Reluctantly Mated
by sailorsenshi7
Summary: RinxSessh fluff. Rin, a prospering writer, meets the demon Lord Sesshomaru at a wedding and is immediately attracted and repulsed by the overbearing demon. Chaos and wild antics ensue as a reluctant demon tries to woo an even more reluctant mate into becoming his for the rest of their lives.
1. Chapter 1

**Another SesshxRin fanfic? Don't mind if I do. Don't think I'm going to have any villains in this, mostly want to focus on the fluffiness of it all :D**

 **I hope you guys like it! Please be sure to review/follow/fav the new story to get it going**

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Rin sat up in the back seat of the car, fiddling with the imaginary lint on the skirt of her dress and shifting side to side, wishing she was in workout clothes, as opposed to the get up she was wearing, and out at the gym to relieve the nervous energy that was building up inside of her.

The limo she was in was rather ostentatious. She would have preferred to have driven herself to her cousin's wedding, but unfortunately Kagome was a bit of a pushover when it came to her fiance's family (meaning she was a huge pushover to her future mother in law and was always agreeing to whatever the woman said), which was how Rin came to be sitting in the back of a limo, all by herself, being driven to a wedding out in the middle of nowhere.

Instead, she could have been driving herself, which would have worked wonders when she departed the reception early, which had been her plan from the beginning. As much as she wanted to spend her evening, night and breakfast with a compound full of different demons, she would rather pass. As in, hard pass. Rin would have rather shaved her head of it's long raven colored locks, tattooed her cream colored face and pierced her downstairs as opposed to spending her time with demons.

Not just demons, but the most high maintenance of demons. The family Kagome was marrying into was arrogant, way too wealthy and had a strong dislike for most humans, which made it entirely ridiculous that her cousin Kagome had even been considered as a suitable daughter for the clan, let alone the fact that she had been in training to become a priestess before she fell in love with a demon and decided to marry him. Not just any priestess, but a high priestess that would have been in charge of eradicating wayward demons who threatened human kind.

Rin still had no idea how this had happened, mostly because she and Kagome had lost touch over the years, both of them choosing different paths in life. Where Kagome had chosen to follow a righteous path, Rin had become an expert swordsman, a craft she considered lost on many, and also a writer. The writing was her actual profession, although she would have probably made a kick ass samurai if she had been born into a previous era.

Not that she knew of many female samurai warriors, but eh. She could have been the exception. Or pulled a Mulan and paraded around as a man who didn't know how to actually behave like a man.

Leaning back in her seat, Rin closed her eyes and tried to focus on some sort of meditation, even though she was in a moving vehicle. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Count to three. Repeat. Focus on nothing other than the sounds of the breaths as they come in and leave. Be tranquil like an undisturbed body of water.

Her car door was pulled open abruptly, startling Rin into snapping open her eyes and staring up at the human driver who had picked her up that morning. Rin smiled nicely at the older gentleman and took the proffered hand, allowing him to help her exit the vehicle. Her silver stilettos sunk slightly into the gravel driveway and she quickly grabbed her clutch as well as the overnight bag that had been beside her during her journey. Smoothing the pleated skirt that came down just below her knees, Rin looked down at her watch quickly, noting that she must have been meditating for well over an hour before the car stopped.

At least it had helped calm her down.

"Miss, I can take your bag up to your room. The guests are all waiting in the foyer before being moved to the greenhouse for the ceremony. Reception will take place in the ballroom in a separate section of the grounds. I will escort you to the foyer to keep you from getting lost as you have only just arrived."

Without waiting for an answer, the driver plopped the overnight bag from her grip and began walking up the immense marble front steps, not even glancing at the large columns that held intricate carvings of what appeared to be some sort of battle. The last columns, one on each end of the final step, closest to the doorways were carved into figures of two men who looked to be almost identical. Both had fierce, stern expressions on their faces. Interesting facial markings as well. Crescent moon tattoos on their foreheads and some sort of stripes on either sides of their faces. In the carvings, both mean wore traditional Japanese garb, each with their own sets of swords hooked to scabbards on their waists.

She sucked in a breath at the columns, feeling some sort of odd fluttering in her stomach at one of the images in particular before she shook her head and continued up the steps, her shoes making a soft clacking noise as she followed the driver through the large front door.

Immediately she heard voices echoing throughout the large hall, seeming to be coming from the closed double doors on the right side of the room. The driver ushered her forward before he placed a hand on the door knob and twisted, pulling it open and nodding his head to the side, clearly a silent invitation for Rin to step into the room.

Trepidation filled her at the prospect of making the acquaintance of anyone who might have lurked inside of that room. Squaring her shoulders and smoothing the skirt once more, Rin stepped forward and entered the room, wanting to look around for potential enemies. Instead, she pasted a small smile on her face and kept her eyes forward, hoping like hell she ran into her aunt and uncle. Maybe her other cousin would be present as well?

"Oh Rin! You're here. How lovely," and just like that, Rin was once again in the presence of her aunt Helen, the older woman beaming happily at her. "You look so lovely, Rin! It's hard to believe the last time I saw you, you were just growing in a new set of front teeth!" Aunt Helen grabbed Rin's hand and twirled her about like she did when Rin had been small. The movement caused the skirt of her dress to fan out around her momentarily before she stopped the movement and smiled childishly at her aunt. "And your dress! Darling, you look like a million bucks!"

Rin couldn't help but smile at her aunt. It was true that the dress had cost a lot, but she had also worn it for the release party of her first book, a little over two years ago. It was a satin dress, with a sweetheart neckline, the straps were made of Swarovski crystals. The waistline was high, to help accentuate her curves, also with a Swarovski crystal belt that was sown into the waistline. After the crystals, the dress fanned out a little into the skirt, which came to right above her knees, pleated, because Rin enjoyed the freedom of movement.

Also because she had a knife strapped to her inner thigh incase there were any unpleasant situations in her future. Her shoes were the most expensive object on her, which might have been shocking because they were plain compared to the rest of her outfit. But they were also designer, and also very pricey. She wore a Tiffany's watch with a white leather band (a gift from her editor when her book had sold over a million copies) as well as small diamond earrings that were easily noticeable due to the hairstyle she had done for the wedding. Her hair had been curled and wrapped around to frame the left side of her face, hiding a small birthmark she was always self conscious about.

"You look as beautiful as ever, aunt Helen!" And with that they continued with small talk for a few more minutes before her aunt grabbed her hand and let out a happy shriek.

"Oh! You have to meet the new family! They will just be thrilled that you could show up! They felt so bad when they learned how little relatives Kagome has, you know." And her aunt began dragging her with more force than she would have thought the woman capable, out of the foyer and into the main hall. She took a sharp turn up a grand stair case and once they reached the top, took a quick turn to the left, urging Rin on along the expensive carpet.

The young woman didn't even have time to marvel at the riches and splendors that littered the private section of the house, only feeling slightly horrified that they were no doubt encroaching on someone else's private life.

"Shouldn't we wait downstairs, maybe? I mean, this seems rather intrusive."

"Nonsense! We are family now. You should consider this your home too, Rin!"

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

It most certainly was not her home. And it wasn't her aunt's home either. As far as Rin was aware, Kagome had only known her fiancé for a few short months, definitely not enough time for her aunt to feel at home traipsing around the grounds.

Another turn and they came to a closed door.

As far as Rin was concerned, a closed door in a house full of guests generally meant 'do not disturb'. Without even a moment's hesitation, Rin's aunt knocked on the door with more force than necessary, considering they shouldn't have knocked at all.

The door opened almost as instant later, a middle aged woman answering with a smile and ushering them both inside without even the slightest of snarls.

Definitely not something Rin would have expected from a demon.

"Oh! Is this the lady we have been hearing so much about? Oh, Helen! She's even more lovely than you described." Looking at Rin directly, the woman smiled. "You are truly a beauty. It's almost hard to believe you and Kagome aren't closer in bloodline than cousins." And with that, the woman embraced Rin warmly, before stepping back and clearing her throat. "How silly of me! My name is Izayoi! I am Inuyasha's mother. Have you met the groom yet?" At the shake of Rin's head and Helen's adamant denial, Izayoi grabbed Rin's watch clad wrist and tugged her through another door that connected the room they were currently in with another, hollering for everyone to be decent as company was coming through.

Feeling more out of sorts than ever, Rin followed begrudgingly, wondering she should be keeping her eyes closed in case she saw anything she shouldn't have. Like the exposed body of her cousin's future husband.

"Feh. Mom, would you lay off already? You're making more nervous than the actual wedding is." The snarly reply came from one of the three men in the room. It was easy to see that they were all related, given the matching silver hair, all incredibly long, the same height and the striking physical resemblance to one another.

Rin's attention was quickly pulled to the demon that was speaking to his mother in a godawful tone. Rin's eye almost twitched when she caught sight of his ears. Which looked like they belonged on a dog, and were sitting on top of his head. Almost as if they could sense Rin's eyes, one of the ears twitched. She smiled widely before she could stop herself.

No wonder Kagome wanted to marry him. How adorable were those ears?!

"I want you to meet Kagome's cousin. This is Rin. Rin, this is Inuyasha Taisho, the man who has given his heart to Kagome."

Inuyasha snorted before adding some finishing touches on his black tuxedo. He stepped forward and reached his hand out to Rin, shaking it gently and quickly before letting go. "I wouldn't say I gave my heart to her. More like she beat me over the head with a baseball bat before I finally relented and shared my feelings. She's a bit of a ballbuster."

It was Rin's turn to snort at that, quickly covering the sound with a delicate cough that she covered with her hand. She leaned forward to share a secret. "You have no idea. One time we got into an argument over how best to build a fort in her bedroom. She was absolutely convinced the type of bedsheets would directly correlate with the integrity of Fort Higurashi and expose us to outside threats. We fought over sheet types for so long it was eventually time to go home and we never actually built a fort."

"What can I say? I guess I love a woman in charge." And with that Inuyasha winked a Rin before clearing his throat and gesturing to the other men in the room, who had remained silent since she entered. "This here is my father, Lord Inu Taisho." Rin nodded her head respectfully to the stoic demon who had made no attempt to shake her hand. She didn't take it personally. She read that most full blooded demons were very closed off and reacted poorly to any type of affection or personal contact. Knowing this, Rin didn't want to make the situation uncomfortable by extending her hand in greeting only to be rebuffed. Talk about embarrassing.

She took a closer look at the older demon and smiled when she realized how she knew him. "Oh, you were one of the sculptures built into the columns out front. It's a very impressive likeness, sir."

The demon smiled slightly. "Thank you, my dear. Although I have to say, the photo on the back of your book does little to convey how truly breathtaking you are in person." She smiled awkwardly.

"You've read one of my books?" She didn't think demons would be into human literature, especially a period romance involving overbearing Scottish lords who fell in love with tough, yet vulnerable damsels who always ended up reluctantly in distress.

"Izayoi is a huge fan. I admit, I did read the first one as she was so taken with the series. I can see why it was a number one best seller for so long. Did I also hear rumors of it making the big screen?"

Rin blushed, a bit taken aback that the head of the family had obviously done his homework. "Yes, sir. I actually just got back yesterday from signing over the rights to the first book. It's going to begin pre production in a few months. I have even been given a say in the script and the acting selection, to try and make sure it lives up to the book."

"Such wonderful news, Rin! Why didn't you mention anything?" Aunt Helen piped up from behind her, causing Rin to turn a chagrinned expression to her relative.

"It just didn't seem like the time since it's Kagome's weekend and all. Didn't want to take the spotlight off of her." Considering Kagome was probably the ultimate bridezilla, if the fort was anything to go by.

"Nonsense!"

The only other person in the room who hadn't spoken stepped forward from his previously shadowed location, drawing Rin's eye where he hadn't before. She sucked in a deep breath once their eyes met, the strangest sensation overpowering her. She recognized him from the other column that had captivated her outside. He looked just as stern as he had in the sculpture, just as hard and disciplined. Only something about him seemed very familiar.

His hair was long, straight and silver, just like that of his relatives. He had a crescent moon symbol on his forehead, like the column, and two markings on either side of his cheeks. His ears, unlike his brothers, seemed mostly human, although they did have pointed ends. For a brief moment she was almost disappointed that she wouldn't be able to play with this man's ears like Kagome undoubtedly did with Inuyasha's. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Rin blushed a deep crimson when their eyes met.

Why on earth was she thinking about touching this demon at all? Oh God. She never should have come upstairs with her overbearing aunt.

"Uh, this is my half brother, Sesshomaru."

"Lord Sesshomaru." The demon said, barely conveying any interest in the conversation.

"Oh, my apologies. _Lord_ Sesshomaru. How silly of me to have forgotten your damn title." Inuyasha rolled his eyes before stepping away from the Rin and Sesshomaru and joining the others across the room in their conversation.

As they continued their awkward stare, Rin finally broke the silence and cleared her throat gently before speaking. "This probably sounds weird, but have we met before? You seem very familiar." Even as she said it, Rin knew she hadn't met him. At least, she felt she would have remembered meeting such a man. Or seeing him from a distance. He was quite unforgettable. And a demon. It wasn't like there were tons of them in the city she currently resided in.

"I don't usually make acquaintances with humans of any ilk, let alone those born without rank of some sort." The tone was dry, but the words stung like ice. Not one to generally let others criticize her, Rin tried to hide the hurt that flashed across her eyes briefly at the veiled insult. For whatever reason, his dismissal of her as anyone made her want to fling herself onto a chaise lounge and weep dramatically, much like one of the heroines from her books might have. Instead, she arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and smiled sweetly.

"Are you so old you're hard of hearing, dog demon? Your father just said I'm a number one ranked international best seller. How's that for rank?" Without waiting for some sort of asshat remark, Rin turned on her fancy heels and promptly slipped on a black tie that was lying on the ground.

Only an 'eep' of dismay escaped her mouth before she fell backwards and right into the demon she had been intent on being rid of. His clawed hands encircled her upper arms, steadying her before she collided right into him and caused a huge scene. She felt a shock where his skin touched hers before some sort of heat rushed into her body, almost as if had been hit by some sort of electrical current.

Rin wasn't sure if she leapt out of his arms or she shoved her away once the heat encircled her. She turned back to face the demon, expecting to see some sort of startled expression on his face. Instead, it remained stoic, which she was beginning to feel was his just his face. Did the demon ever smile?

"Did you..." _Feel that? What the hell was that?_ Instead, Rin narrowed her eyes and wanted to groan aloud. She doubted anything demonic had happened. It was probably just a shock of electricity from when she slipped on the tie. Friction and things and all that. Definitely not demonic. "Oh never mind. You're still a big jerk." And for her second attempt at a grand exit, Rin made sure to strut, albeit very _carefully,_ back to her aunt and new relatives, very glad when no one else seemed to notice the incident that had just occurred.

Thank God for small favors.

* * *

The wedding took place within the next two hours, which couldn't have come soon enough for Rin. She escaped the upstairs room as quickly as she could before wandering around to find some sort of waitstaff that could escort her to her room for a few minutes to herself.

Rin felt scatter brained, unfocused. It wasn't something she was used to feeling, especially at the hands of some _male._ She was a grown woman, for heaven sakes. Not only that, she wrote about men ALL the time in her books, fan fiction, and whatever else she wrote in. It wasn't like she was unaware or out of practice dealing with good looking men who thought they could talk down to the little woman. Granted, she hadn't been attracted to any of _those_ men, nor had those men been demons.

Perhaps she was just unsettled because he was beautiful and a demon. She had been expecting a family that resembled ogres or gremlins. Not someone right out of a fantasy. Or a nightmare, considering how intimidating he was.

 _That's probably it,_ Rin rationalized to herself. No way she had been attracted to that imbecile.

Once Rin had collected herself, also known as hiding until the ceremony was ready to begin, Rin made her way back downstairs and across a wing of the manor until she reached the room all the guests were still mingling in.

After that, Rin had followed Aunt Helen and Uncle Joe to the greenhouse located only a quarter of a mile from the main manor. Luckily there had been some sort of golf cart train thing to drive them there, otherwise her Jimmy Choo's no doubt would have sank into the dirt countless times and probably have been ruined. Just because they cost a fortune did not make them durable. It was such a pity when you thought about it.

Seated at the front row with her aunt and uncle, Rin made sure to smile and wave at Inuyasha who was waiting at the end of the aisle and to completely ignore his half brother. It was probably her imagination, but she could almost feel piercing gold eyes watching her from precisely his direction.

She knew it had to have been her imagination. She was human after all and she was well aware that he didn't mingle with humans.

 _Such an ass._

Oh, perhaps he could be the inspiration for the main villain in her next book. Lord knew she was having a hell of a hard time finding inspiration to write anything nowadays anyway. Hard to come up with something new and exciting when all she wrote about were Scottish Highlanders wooing the frightened damsel.

Maybe she could write about a sexy demon lord who fell in love and married a commoner.

Obviously Lord Doucheface wouldn't be the sexy demon lord. No way. He would be the fire breathing dragon that was slain by the end of the book, causing the entire village to rejoice at his demise. Yes, that would work quite nicely.

The music began to play and shortly after there was a small gasp from the crowd when Kagome began walking down the aisle. Rin teared up slightly at the radiating smile her cousin wore as she focused on reaching Inuyasha. It was like she didn't even realize there was a large crowd gathered to watch their union take place. Her eyes were only on one individual. Rin smiled, happy that her cousin was so lucky to have found someone she cared for so much in such a short period of time.

Rin didn't think she could ever settle down with someone, let alone marry him after literally three months of dating. How did one really know the other person after such a short time? Could anyone truly know another individual so quickly? Rin didn't think so, no matter how often she wrote about it. Writing it and believing it were two different things as far as she was concerned.

Rin kept her eyes on the happy couple through the exchanging of vows and rings, all the while feeling eyes focused on her through the entire ceremony. Once the couple were announced as man and wife, they locked into a loving embraced and kissed before everyone to make it official.

It was during that time Rin convinced herself to look at Sesshomaru to get the silly notion out of her head that he was watching her. She knew she was just being paranoid. Up until she looked over to him from across the stage and made eye contact. Her eyes widened and her mouth slightly parted at the intensity of his gaze, almost as if he were scrutinizing her for whatever reason. Not that he needed one, being the jerk that he was.

After a few moments he looked away from her and she immediately felt more at ease, the tension leaving her shoulders and also the sensation of being watched.

 _He had been watching her!_

But for what? Why would he? It didn't make sense.

* * *

Back at the reception hall, the party was in full swing. Rin had already given a happy congratulations to the new bride and groom, even taking twenty minutes up from Inuyasha to reconnect with Kagome, who had insisted she sit at the wedding party table, even though she wasn't technically a part of it. Some poor groomsmen had been booted from the table without any sort of preamble.

Rin had felt bad but the demon took it in stride, immediately flirting with a demoness who had been sitting next to Rin's assigned seat.

Another hour passed after the food had been served, the group all talking animatedly aside from the two lords of the family, who were more content to sit back and remain silent throughout the evening. Rin didn't mind in the slightest, still feeling entirely too on edge with the demon seated on the other side of the long table.

Kagome and Inuyasha got up to begin their first dance as a married couple. After the first song a demon tapped Rin on the shoulder. He had ears a lot like Sesshomaru's and looked distinctly wolf like, if she could describe a man as such.

He introduced himself as Kouga, smiling cockily down at her when asking if she would like to dance.

Not waiting another second, Rin took his hand and let him lead her out onto the dance floor while a slow song played for them. For all of his sly behavior, Kouga was a bit of a horrific dancer, nearly stepping on Rin's toes at least six times when all they really had to do was sway back and forth. Unfortunately for her shoes, he had tried overly hard to impress her, leading to one depressing scuff mark on a pair of shoes she had cherished for well over a year.

Smiling politely, Rin decided to return to her seat after their dance, declining his invite for a second dance when it was mentioned. Halfway back to her seat, a man with black hair and a gold hooped earring appeared, whisking her back to the dance floor without so much as a word. She found out after their first upbeat dance that his name was Miroku and he was currently trying to make the woman he had come to the wedding with jealous.

"I've been trying to get her to date me for years, but she thinks I'm too much of a leacher and always turns me down."

"Well, you are trying to make her jealous by dancing with a single woman at a wedding. Probably not the brightest idea to let her know you're serious about her." Not that Rin cared too much. She knew she wasn't going to try anything with Miroku and she knew he wasn't interested in her either. He was a handsome fellow, but Rin had never been interested in chasing after a taken man, whether it was officially or otherwise.

Having been cheated on before, Rin knew that was never a path she would take to cause unknown damage in someone's life. Not to mention that for whatever reason, Miroku just didn't do anything for her, which was weird, because physically speaking, he was generally the type of man she dated.

Oh well.

Kagome sizzled up to them on the dance floor, smiling sheepishly at the two of them. "Oh nice! I see you've met one of my best friends!" Rin smiled enthusiastically at Kagome's happiness. The bride turned to her cousin and smiled at her in embarrassment. "Do you think you could help me to the ladies room? This dress is a nightmare to deal with and I've had one too many glasses of champagne to risk doing this on my own."

"Yeah, definitely."

* * *

"So it looks like you're having a good time," Kagome mentioned casually as Rin was enveloped in the skirt of the other woman's wedding dress. Literally enveloped. She had bits of train in her face, some sort of under tulle that made the princess cut dress full after the waist, and man, it was scratchy. How the hell did Kagome wear this comfortably? It was only on her arms and she felt like she was going to break out into hives at any second.

"Yeah, it's been great. I mean, I was a little wary at first, you know, with the whole demon thing. And then meeting Inuyasha's brother was about ten levels outside of my comfort zone. But I'm really glad I came!"

"Sesshomaru is a little unsettling, isn't he? I swear I've only heard the guy talk on about 5 occasions."

"Yeah, he told me that he doesn't associate with humans, especially those without rank. Annnnd I might have called him a jerk."

Kagome snapped her head up from her position on the toilet seat, jaw dropping open. "You didn't."

"Yeah, kind of did."

"No way!"

"Yeah. I mean, what happened after made me feel super stupid, but I sure called him a jerk." Rin's cheeks heated at the memory.

"Oh, I smell some sort of juicy secret. Tell me everything!" And with that, Rin rehashed the story, including her line about being a ranked best seller, slipping on a tie and falling right into his arms.

"Oh, it's just like a romantic comedy!" Kagome gushed, flushing the toilet and stepping forward so that Rin could untangle herself from the web of fabric that had ensnared her.

Snorting at Kagome's comment, Rin carefully rearranged the back of Kagome's underskirt tulle thingy and then fluffed down the rest of her dress, making sure nothing was wrinkled.

"What's romantic about that? The guy was super rude. He probably only caught me because I was plummeting into his general direction and he didn't want to wrinkle his tux."

"No, Sesshomaru isn't that kind of person." Kagome fluffed her hair and rubbed her lips together to make sure her lipstick was still intact. "He probably just would have stepped back and let you fall."

"Wow, well then I guess that jerk statement was right on point."

Kagome shrugged before stepping out of the room. Rin followed and stopped abruptly when she noticed Inuyasha and Sesshomaru lingering outside the doorway. "You two weren't eavesdropping, were you?" Kagome asked Inuyasha with a skeptical tone of voice.

"Nope." "Yes." Were both of the replies that came from the two demons. Both of them turned heads and looked at one another before shrugging indifferently and looking back at Kagome. Inuyasha looked chagrinned. Sesshomaru looked indifferent.

"We just came back to escort you to the table. You know I don't like being without you for so long." Inuyasha grumbled unhappily before laying a kiss on Kagome, the two embracing rather noisily right outside the doorway.

Rin grimaced at the display of affection, realizing Sesshomaru had an equal disgusted look on his face, if the curling of his upper lip was any indication. Rin grinned at the demon while he wasn't looking, but made sure her expression was carefully neutral by the time he looked back in her direction.

"I guess we'll just leave this two alone," she muttered before coming up to the nightmare of a dress skirt, trying in vain to worm around the thing and leave the bathroom. After another minute of trying to pry the dress out of her escape route without interrupting the couple making out heavily next to them, Rin threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Come." Sesshomaru called before turning to leave.

"Hello? I _am_ trying. I can't help it if I could fall into this wedding skirt and disappear for three weeks before someone eventually found me trapped in it at the dry cleaners. Could you assist?"

Sighing heavily, Sesshomaru turned around, pushing the skirt further into the bathroom and reaching over it. Both of his hands grabbed her waist and plucked her quickly from the bathroom, her body resting flush against his as he moved them away from the couple and back toward the reception hall. Her feet dangled off the floor a few seconds before Sesshomaru stopped and set her down gently before moving away from her. She felt bereft at the loss of contact, but couldn't explain why, which worried her.

Maybe it had been too long since she'd taken a lover. She was probably starved for physical contact of any sort.

"We should get back to the reception. People will begin to wonder if we are missing for too long." Didn't want to ruin that lordly reputation?

"By all means, lead the way." Sesshomaru grabbed Rin's hand, his fingers wrapping around hers as he led her back to the crowded ballroom. Her heart raced at the touch, eyes locked on their interlocked fingers as he walked at a steady pace. Before they could reach the entrance, Sesshomaru turned and wrapped his body around hers, startling her even further.

Standing there in shock, Rin squeaked out a breathy, "What are you doing?!" before trying to push him off of her. Well, she kind of tried. Her hands went to his chest to shove him away, but all she ended up doing was wrapping her hands around the lapels of his tuxedo jacket. Was he trying to hug her or something? It didn't seem intimate. More like he was conducting some sort of clinical experiment. After an awkward second of no movement, Sesshomaru rubbed his hands over her exposed upper back, her arms and her sides before pulling away from her, once he had touched any and all exposed surface of skin that was considered decent. She let her hands fall to her sides before glaring at the demon and stomping her foot at him, hands resting on her hips with whatever anger she could manage.

Mostly all she felt was confusion. "Are you going to answer the question?" She asked hotly.

"No."

Rin's mouth dropped open at Sesshomaru's audacity. "You're joking. You don't just manhandle someone and then not tell them why!"

"You will not dance with another suitor this evening." And with that, Sesshomaru turned on his heel and entered the ballroom, leaving her to stand alone on the outskirts of the party, wondering what on earth had just happened.

* * *

 **Silly Sesshy!**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Here is another update, coming right at you! Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Please remember to leave a review (I'm at 10 already, just on the first chapter!)! I am also partial to those who favorite the story :P**

* * *

Oh, the nerve of that demon!

Did he honestly think he could just order her around? Rin wasn't some dog who was going to obey anyone's orders, especially those of an arrogant, weirdo demon such as Sesshomaru Taisho. In fact, he was the dog. He shouldn't be giving commands, he should be taking them.

The arrogant mutt.

Rin couldn't figure out why she was so aggravated. She hadn't reacted this way to a man in, well, she had _never_ acted this way. Usually when a man caught her interest, it was only in passing. Granted, none of the men she had ever dated would have dared to dictate to her who she could spend time with. Rin had no idea why it was so infuriating that a demon she just met would set her so on edge, practically to the point of assault. She wanted to figure it out, but at the same time she was terrified that she was way too attracted to someone she had no business being involved with.

Maybe she could live out whatever kind of erotic fantasy that was lurking in mind through another book. Get it all out of her system through the power of the written word and her imagination. That way she could put him out of her mind forever. No harm, no foul.

Once Rin's anger dissipated with her idea, however slightly, she decided she was going to ignore the rather weird encounter they had only moments before and find that cute demon Kouga and see if he wanted to dance some more. That would show that arrogant baka that he couldn't tell her what to do.

Besides, who just bossed someone around and then stormed off into another room without a backward glance?

A jerk, obviously. If she was going to ever write about him, she would have to tone it down. Rin didn't think her readers who enjoy a male character who was so tedious to build a romance around.

Already feeling sorry for her toes at the prospect of her dance partner, Rin waltzed into the ballroom, eyes scouting out her potential dancing partner before she strutted over to Kouga confidently, giving him her best smile. When their eyes met he smiled back until she got closer to him. His smile faded and his nose wrinkled as she neared, almost as if she'd been rolling around in the garbage out back. Deciding it must be his allergies, since she knew she smelled anything but disgusting, Rin stepped right in front of him, holding out a hand.

"I'll take that dance now if you're still offering."

"Uh… Actually, Rin. Now might not be the best time," He replied in a high pitched voice before his eyes darted around the room, widening in what Rin could only guess was fear, before he took a large step back, waving both hands at her profusely. "Yeah, I think I'm just going to pass. Not that you aren't a great dancer or anything. I just… Yeah. Okay, bye!" And with that, Kouga shot off into the crowd, no doubt trying to lose her in the massive crowd of people.

Baffled, Rin looked in the direction he had been staring before, only for her eyes to meet a golden pair from across the room. Her own brown eyes narrowed as she stormed across the dance floor, careful not to bump into any couples as she came to stand right in front of him, only a small section of table separating her from strangling the seated demon.

"What did you do?" She resumed her angry pose from earlier; hands on hips, one leg stuck out and her toe part of her shoe clapping angrily on the ballroom floor. She didn't care if she ended up making a scene. As far as she was concerned, this guy was asking for it!

"I do not answer to you." He kept his posture upright, like there was a stick lodged somewhere in particular. Rin's eyebrows snapped so far up she was sure they connected with her hairline and disappeared.

"Excuse me?"

"This Sesshomaru does not repeat himself."

Rin threw her hands into the air. "And now you're talking to yourself in the third person. That's just fantastic. I was unaware your arrogance could extend any further than I had already seen tonight, but I'm glad you had the opportunity to prove me wrong."

As soon as she finished her sentence, Rin was aware of how uncomfortably silent the room had gotten. No music was playing, no one was talking. In fact, it seemed as if everyone had cleared out, until she turned around in confusion and noticed that the entire room had stopped whatever it was doing; each demon/human staring blatantly in their direction. A sense of unease washed over Rin as she heard the chair Sesshomaru had been occupying scraping back as the demon stood.

"Go back to your business." He kept his tone the same pitch. "Now." And just like that, the music resumed and the party began again, almost as if nothing had happened. "You. Follow me." And with that, he began moving at that ever leisurely pace. Not too fast, not too slow. Rolling her eyes, Rin followed him on the opposite side of the table until it ended, and she placed herself a foot or so behind him. Just in case he tried any funny business like the last time they had been alone together.

 _You could always stab him with your knife,_ a sly part of herself whispered. God. She wondered if he would even react to it. He was probably made of stone, both emotionally and physically. If she hadn't been so adamant about chewing him out for his ridiculous behavior, she probably would have run in the opposite direction.

Hell, it probably wasn't a good sign that the entire room had stopped as soon as she started bitching at the demon. She knew his family was powerful and from the arrogant way he carried himself, he was no doubt just as or more powerful than most of the other demons in that room. Definitely not a good sign for her. And yet she stormed after him anyway, clearly intent on giving him a piece of her mind. There was no way she was going to let him get away with WHATEVER he thought he was doing.

Once they entered what seemed to be a service corridor, Sesshomaru turned down a dark hallway which immediately set her on edge. Only the soft glow of a distantly lit candle gave her any kind of reprieve from full darkness. She turned her head to look back the way she had come, wondering if it was possible to turn and flee now as she got the distinct impression she had bitten off way more than she could chew. She turned back around just in time to smack her face into his solid chest, her body slamming into his a bit painfully before she took a quick step back, not wanting his hands on her again.

Or worse, she really wanted those hands to touch her, which was why it was important that she backed away ASAP. Rin couldn't stand the ass, she did NOT want him touching her in any way shape or form. Even if he was handsome, or his hands immediately warmed her skin and sent tingles throughout her body. None of it mattered. None of it.

"You could have warned me." She said rather nasally as she rubbed her tender nose.

"Perhaps you should pay attention." Came the snarky reply.

"Are all demons as irritating as you, or is that just part of your 'charm'?"

"Feh." Was all he said. Feh? Was that even a word?

"Do you have anything to say?" She asked him heatedly, chest rising and falling dramatically with her breaths as she became more and more irritated with the demon before her. There was just something about him that put her completely out of sorts. She either wanted to strangle him or... other things. Terrible, wonderful things that she would definitely not continue thinking about. She'd only known him for a few hours and he had already made her experience more emotions in such a short amount of time than she had experienced in the past several months.

"As I recall, it was you who was wailing in front of an audience."

"YOU led us down here!"

"To escape the audience."

"Oh! You are so infuriating Sesshomaru!" Rin snapped up at him, completely irritated to discover she had taken a few steps closer to him during their brief exchange. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm herself with one of her breathing techniques. Once she felt more grounded, Rin opened her eyes and stared up at the tall demon before her, desperate to focus on the issue at hand and not how the dim light of the candle reflected in his eyes, making them look like melted pools of gold as opposed to the ice-like stare she was coming accustomed to seeing.

"I think you should explain why you frightened off Kouga."

"Who?"

"The demon I was standing next to only a few minutes ago." Rin bit out through clenched teeth. So much for her exercises. "He looked at you from across the room and practically ran away from me!"

"I did tell you not to dance with any suitors for the rest of the evening."

"Who even says suitors anymore? Either way, who I dance with is none of your concern. None at all. And don't even get me started on your weird groping thing earlier. Was that supposed to be some demon form of foreplay? Ugh, it doesn't matter. Just leave me alone and let me enjoy the rest of my evening."

"I never intended for you to not enjoy the evening."

Rin nodded her head sharply. "Well... Good. Then let's just pretend you aren't a big weirdo and that the past hour was just some sort of really bad dream." She stuck out her hand, offering him to shake on a truce.

"You will still not engage in any activity with other males." Rin dropped her hand and narrowed her eyes, stepping up to him until she was forced to pull her head back to maintain eye contact. He was just that tall.

"That isn't your business."

"It is."

Rin's eyes clouded in confusion at his statement. "I don't understand."

"You aren't meant to understand. Only to obey." Sesshomaru smirked when her mouth dropped open again, no doubt looking comical.

"Has anyone ever slapped that smirk off your face before or can I be the first?" His eyes narrowed and Rin swore the temperature in the room dropped at least fifteen degrees as he bent down until their foreheads touched, his eyes both frightening and exotic. Rin was having a hell of a time deciding whether or not Sesshomaru terrified her or turned her on. How could she be so conflicted about that?

"Did you threaten this Sesshomaru?" He growled out at her.

"Did you just imply I was your property?"

"Perhaps I should have stated it outright."

And with that, Rin smack him right across the cheek. There was a loud crack, which was surprising as his face didn't move even a centimeter from the contact. Her hand instantly burned from the assault, but began to cool down the longer it was pressed against his cheek.

They stared at each other, probably both of them in shock. Her from his obnoxious declaration and him that she had actually dared to strike him. With a growl, he grabbed her and tossed her gently back against a wall, pinning her arms above her head as he snarled down at her, fangs extended and eyes transformed into some horrendous blood red color, completely overthrowing whatever color she had been seeing only moments before.

Rin screamed in terror before he used his only free hand to cup her mouth, blocking out her shriek as he pressed his body full into hers to keep her from moving away. Rin struggled in his grip, yanking at her arms to break free. The motion was useless as he was so much stronger than she was. Rin knew that if he wanted to he could have snapped her wrists like twigs. He probably could have crushed both of her hands with just his one. Hell, he could have devoured her in less than a minute if he wanted.

Instead of doing any of that, Sesshomaru leaned down until his blood red eyes were all she could see. He breathed her in, no doubt smelling how terrified and how awkwardly aroused she was, no doubt from the confusion and fear and she felt.

"You will not do that again." His voice was guttural and stern. Hypnotic and awful all at once. Rin nodded her head mutely, her lips tingling from his warm palm. She tried to lick her suddenly dry lips and instead her tongue brushed along his palm briefly before she stopped what she was doing, feeling mortified. His entire body shuddered from the contact and his head came even closer to her own, his fangs flashing as his mouth stretched out wide and he gripped her head to the side to give him better access for whatever was going to happen next.

A moment later he disappeared into a white ball, flashing in and out of the hallway in less than a full second. Rin, left alone, sagged against the wall before sinking slowly to the floor. She clutched at her wrists, rubbing the tender spots with her fingers, eyes never leaving the candle that flickered ominously in the darkness.

Had she really slapped a demon? Him? Sesshomaru? Granted, he had pretty much called her his possession, but still. She had been called worse by far more troubling individuals and she had never been violent with them. Rin felt ashamed of herself, but mostly in shock that he had the opportunity to do whatever he wanted to her after she hit him and instead he had left before something happened. Before he had done something irrevocable.

She wasn't sure how long she sat on the hardwood floor or how long she stared at that candle down the hallway. Eventually Rin stood up and moved awkwardly down the corridor as her legs had fallen asleep after so long in their bent position. She ignored the tiny pinpricks that rushed up her feet, calves and knees. Once she reached a set of stairs she ascended them, clutching on the banister for support until she reached the second level. From there Rin wandered aimlessly down the halls until she eventually reached her room, closing the large door behind her and flipping on a bedside lamp.

With the glow from the light, Rin removed her shoes and climbed atop the bed, still fully clothed, before falling asleep above the covers.

* * *

Rin awoke with a start, sucking in a great lungful of air as she clutched a hand to her heart, willing the beat to reach a less frantic pace.

She had been having the same dream for well over two years, since she was still in college and finishing up her degree in Creative Writing. The dream always started out the same way, with her walking home from the library late at night. In her dream, it's always snowing. Big, fat flakes that coat the ground at least a few inches and cause deep crunching noises when she walks down a secluded area of campus and towards her POS car parked over by a dumpster and an alley.

The dream had always begun with such vivid detail, seeming serene. Tranquil. One of Rin's favorite times of year was winter, which was probably why she never thought to feel apprehensive in her dream.

In the dream she nearly reaches the safety of her car before she is plucked off her feet and tossed backward onto the ground. That's when she almost always woke up, when the first stirring of fear began to course through her entire body.

This time was no exception. Sitting up, Rin tossed the comforter and sheet off of her body, standing up and pacing the room in her dress. Deciding to change into pajamas, Rin went over the open floor length window and picked up the overnight bag sitting a chair nearby. Turning, Rin discarded her dress, letting it fall to the floor before unzipping the bag and pulling out a tank top to sleep in. Rin took the bobby pins out of her hair, letting the curls fan around her face in a messy fashion. She also changed from her thong to a pair of boy shorts before sighing and returning back to the bed with the rumpled sheets.

It wasn't until she was back in bed and lying down that Rin realized a few things.

One, she was almost positive she had fallen asleep on top of the covers, not nestled under them.

Two, the bedside lamp had also been on when she had fallen asleep.

Three, the floor length window had most certainly not been wide open, or even unlocked when she had gone to bed.

Rin sat upright, practically bolting from the bed to throw on the main light switch by the bedroom door, afraid to discover she wasn't alone. Instead, after her eyes adjusted to the light, Rin sighed in relief.

No one was in the room with her.

Rin walked over to the window a few minutes later, stepping through it and out onto the terrace, which overlooked some sort of reflecting pool and flower garden.

The moon was mirrored in the calm water as it hung high in the sky above the grounds, casting such a wondrous image in her mind. Rin sighed again, feeling more content than she had in days as she let the rays of the moon caress her skin and bathe the rest of her in its light.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed out there gazing up at the moon. It wasn't until the cool night air began to chill her skin that Rin went back inside, leaving the window open behind her. For some reason it felt right. Inviting.

She turned her bedside lamp on, the main light off and crawled back into her cozy bed. Laying down on her pillow, Rin's nose touched a strand of hair, immediately tickling her skin. She sat up in the bed, looking for one of her raven colored strands. Instead she found a long silver strand, one that resembled Sesshomaru's own head of hair almost perfectly.

* * *

 **Leave a review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all of the positive reviews y'all!**

 **JUST A HEADS UP, THERE IS SEX IN THIS SCENE (BUT NOT BETWEEN RIN/SESSH) X: DON'T BE MAD! IT ALL TIES INTO THE STORY. I MEAN, HOW CAN SOMEONE BE 'RELUCTANTLY' MATED WITHOUT AN ACTUAL REASON, HMMMM? BESIIIIIIDES, ITS NOT LIKE THEY'RE TOGETHER YET ANYWAY.**

 **I hope you all enjoy and please leave some love at the end!**

Rin woke up the next morning, body tucked under a deliciously warm amount of blankets. The room was cold, which was a bit odd for early August, but with the large window open across from her bed, it was easy to imagine where the chill was originating.

Stretching leisurely, Rin got out of bed after a few minutes of internal debating. On the one hand, she could stay tucked under the covers all day and she wouldn't have to deal with any irritating dog demons. On the other hand, if she didn't get up now, she would risk missing her driver and being stuck in the mansion all day long, possibly not even returning back to her home until well into the night. If she got up, she could be out of there as soon as possible and be on her way.

No dog demon to torment her at all if she wasn't in the same zip code!

Rin looked back at the unmade bed, remembering the strand of hair from the night before. While Rin was quite sure the psycho had crept into her bedroom last night to tuck her in, she didn't want to assume anything. The hair had been long, like hers, and while she was still in her early 20s, it wasn't like she was a stranger to a random silver lock every now and then. Also, considering how she had found herself pressed up to the demon rather intimately the night before, it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to realize how easily a rogue hair of Sesshomaru's could have ended up on her person and therefore in her bed.

She had fallen asleep wearing the clothes she had been around him in.

See? A logical explanation. Nothing kind of sweet/creepy to think about at all.

And with that, Rin found herself walking quickly to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Once she was finished with all of the necessary grooming, Rin came back out into the room in a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, flower print ballet flats and a light knit sweater.

Hearing a crack of thunder, Rin looked up and to the window, face falling when she noticed how hard the rain seemed to be coming down just outside her balcony.

"Kami, the whole garden is going to flood!" She rushed over to the terrace without actually stepping outside, looking down as far as she could to confirm her suspicions. The entire garden was already flooded, leaving little doubt in Rin's mind that the first floor was most likely in a similar situation. Oh dear, how awful. All of the hardwood floors and the beautiful carpentry could have very well been ruined if the storm had been persisting over the past several hours and no one was aware of it.

As another fork of lightning lit up across the sky,she hoped the weather would let up soon and not delay her or Kagome's departure from out in the middle of nowhere.

Glancing at her watch and noting the earliness of the day, Rin decided to head downstairs and see if she could find her cousin. Maybe she had already left for the airport?

* * *

"It looks like none of us are leaving anytime soon," Kagome said in apology to Rin, wincing in sympathy as the other woman huffed out a frustrated breath. Rin ran a hand through her long hair, not caring if it was causing the waves to mess up in the process. She had luckily _only_ bumped into Kagome and Inuyasha since she had found her way downstairs, but she knew luck wouldn't be on her side forever.

Sesshomaru, the overbearing baka, was bound to show up. Wasn't it always how that happened? It was always the devastatingly handsome ones that turned out to be complete stalkers.

 _He wasn't in your room last night,_ she reminded herself. _Now lighten up._

Rin had been right about the first floor being damaged; at least a large section of it. The front entrance had remained fine due to the way the house was set up. Having the giant staircase outside leading to the main entrance had really saved the day. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the back section of the house, which was perfectly level with the back gardens, aka flood city.

"Are you sure that there isn't a truck or something that could take us back toward the city?" Rin wrapped her arms around her middle, wondering if someone was planning to turn on the heat at any point in time. Did demons feel the cold and the heat like humans did?

"Feh. Fat chance. When some of the drivers attempted to come back this morning, most of the cars got stuck along the road about a mile out. We're probably going to be here for a few days." Inuyasha tossed his leather duffel bag onto the entry table before grabbing Kagome's and doing the same. "At least I know how to pass the time with you, wife." Scooping up the laughing woman, Inuyasha nodded his head at Rin before dashing up the stairs, nuzzling Kagome's neck as he did so. "See ya later, kid!"

"Kid?!" She was 25! Hardly a child, especially to Inuyasha. He didn't look a day over 20, which baffled Rin that Kagome would rob the cradle, so to speak. The other woman was even older than Rin was.

Sighing again, Rin decided she would go explore the large home, at least whatever was open to the general public. She didn't want to stumble into anyone's private rooms and cause a commotion.

 _You just want to wander around until you bump into a certain someone,_ her self conscious piped up. Rolling her eyes at herself, Rin went back to the ballroom the party had been held in the night before, all the while ignoring herself.

So what if she was exploring? It wasn't because she wanted to see Sesshomaru. She couldn't stand him! It was to save herself a bit of boredom. That was all. If she was going to be cooped up in the house for the next day or so, she wanted to be familiar with the place. Who knew? She might even find a nice, hidden room to do some writing in.

 _A nice quiet room to do something much more passionate in, you mean._

Definitely not.

 _Oh come on. How long has it been since you've found yourself constantly thinking about a man who wasn't a figment of your imagination? Even the men you bring to life in your books don't hold a candle to someone like him and you know it._

Was she out of her mind? The demon had pretty much proclaimed her as property, which was super weird. He forbade her from socializing with out males and then he could have possibly crept into her bedroom like a thief in the night and spied on her.

 _Where's your sense of adventure?_

Her sense of adventure?! It was hidden behind her sense of self preservation.

Deciding she didn't need to take any self abuse, Rin pulled out a set of earphones and plugged them into her iPhone to play some music to drown out the voice of insanity that had seemed to plant itself inside of her brain. Selecting her 'workout' playlist, Rin meandered from the ballroom, through a set of double doors. She weaved her way in and out of so many different rooms, most of them clearly for storage or servants entrances that she finally became totally lost after nearly 30 minutes of wandering. The crazy part was that after 30 minutes of being nosy, she still hadn't even come across the same room twice.

The place was giant!

Going against her better judgment, Rin ascended a staircase when she found it, moving from the second floor to the third with much more ease than she should have been comfortable with, given that she wasn't in her own home.

She whistled lowly in tune to The Beastie Boy's song, 'Sabotage', rocking her head with the beat and rapping along with the song. After a few seconds she actually stopped her wild thrashing to actually appreciate the music she was listening to, completely unaware that she was about to stumble upon a scene she would have much rather done without.

* * *

 **Sesshomaru's POV**

He thrust once more into the willing Youkai beneath him, hand cupping the back of her head to hold her down into the mattress while he finished into yet another condom.

The first time they had fucked, the Youkai bitch whose name he couldn't remember had tried kissing him, wrapping her thin, almost spider like arms around his body. Not one to tolerate any sort of affection, while fucking or otherwise, Sesshomaru had promptly flipped the bitch onto her stomach and used her to sate the strangely harsh desire that had been tearing at him for the past day.

Except it was not working. As soon as he finished inside of her, his erection came back to life, balls screaming at him to find release.

The Youkai laying on the bed moaned when he withdrew from her, only to switch out the used condom for a new one. Grabbing her legs, Sesshomaru dragged the demon whore down the bed until her legs were planted on the ground and her ass was in the air. Wasting no time, he entered her harshly, enjoying the gasp that escaped her when he filled her to the hilt, the head of his cock slamming against the back of her pussy.

He kept up a grueling pace, staring down at the luscious black hair of his companion. When she moaned again and began touching herself, his mind conjured up the human from the night before. His balls clenched at the thought of the human, Rin, being beneath him and moaning out her pleasure as he took her from behind. The demon moaned out again. "Oh _Sesshomaru._ Harder!" He heard Rin calling out his name in breathless anticipation and he grunted in response, shutting his eyes to capture the image more fully in his mind.

He would reprimand himself later for the lack of regard he had for his own station, to be picturing a human commoner to sate his appetites. Now, however, his dick pulsed from the pleasure of Rin splayed out for him and only him, touching herself and crying out as she climaxed onto him, her body shaking from the force of her arousal.

He gripped the demon's hips, poisoned claws digging deep into her hips as he thrust harder, uncaring that whoever was under him would have scars from the tips of his claws. Demon's usually healed fine, however, poison tended to leave behind scars. Not that he cared. She was merely a vessel as he intended to deny himself who he truly wanted.

In fact, he was so pathetic that he had hidden away his lust on the top floor of the family estate, not wanting _her_ to find out what he was up to, which was odd. He didn't want to dwell on that.

Losing focus, Sesshomaru's own orgasm dwindled, his own release sinking further and further away from him.

His ears twitched as he heard the sound of some type of obnoxious music coming closer to his whereabouts. Probably a servant to do housework. He grunted, closing his eyes again and picturing the human splayed out before him like a feast. Her arms wrapping around his shoulders, legs wrapped around his waist as she rode him. Her eyes would be like melted chocolate in her arousal as she sucked his lip into her mouth before biting down on it, spilling some of his blood into her mouth and moaning again.

The door in front of him was opened wantonly and his eyes snapped open only to lock onto a pair of shocked chocolate covered eyes. It was the sight of her intoxicating face that pushed Sesshomaru over the edge, the face he had been fantasizing about come to life. He growled deep in his throat as he thrust again, the sound of flesh slapping together as he came harshly into the demon laying beneath him.

"Oh God!" Rin exclaimed, throwing her hands above her eyes. The situation probably would have been comical had Sesshomaru not immediately felt like the scum of the earth, even too low for the humans to be bothered with him.

"Get out, human bitch!" The demon hollered. Rin slammed the door shut. Sesshomaru could hear her steps as she raced down the hallway and away from him.

He wasted no time in wrapping the long black hair in front of him around his hand, yanking the demon's head back roughly and growling into her ear as he pulled out, the wet suckling noise from her greedy cunt only making him want to vomit from his transgressions. It wasn't until he had seen Rin's shocked face that he truly understood why he had been reacting so oddly in the past 24 hours.

Had he truly been so foolish to not understand the possessiveness he had felt towards the human? How jealous he had felt when she had interacted with a few men throughout the evening? How he had nearly taken her the night before when they were alone in a service corridor? She had been so full of life, so feisty and he had eaten it up. Relished in it, even when she had struck him. It only caused him to feel more alive. More alive than he had in at least three centuries.

Then, seeing her as he fucked another woman... He felt unclean. Unworthy. Wrong. What had he done?

Had he truly thought this cold bitch's hair was anything like Rin's? It was dull in comparison, dirty and more brown than the midnight black of the human he had just shocked. "Get the fuck out." He let her go and stepped away, buttoning up his slacks and smoothing his shirt to become presentable yet again.

Barely giving her another glance, as she was truly nothing compared to Rin, Sesshomaru stepped from the room, intent on finding the young human and... He wasn't quite sure what.

* * *

Holy crap. _Holy crap. HOLY CRAP._

Rin sprinted down the hallway, still unsure of where the hell she was going, only that she needed to get the hell out of the house. Like, as soon as possible.

She had walked in on Sesshomaru having sex with someone! She was mortified and for some reason humiliated and hurt, which she was trying extremely hard not to focus on.

 _He's a big creep, remember?_ She chastised herself over and over again as she finally found a set of stairs and descended them two at a time, hoping like hell she didn't trip and crack her damn head open if she fell.

The music in her ears all but forgotten, Rin was startled when she realized the song playing was about heartbreak, which for some dumb reason made her eyes tear up as she kept picturing Sesshomaru going to town with someone else.

What was wrong with her? Literally five minutes before Rin had sworn to herself that there was absolutely no way she could be interested in someone so arrogant and rude, and yet... Catching him in the throes of orgasm had really opened Rin's eyes to the fact that she had been blatantly lying to herself. She _had_ been interested, foolishly enough.

She obviously wasn't Sesshomaru's type though, which was fine. Really, it was. She had known before meeting his family that they weren't big on humans and yet for some reason she felt like she stood a chance at who knew what. She surely didn't know what she had been searching for, only that she felt as if she had found it. Not that Rin was feeling that way anymore.

Ripping the earphones out, Rin stepped onto the second floor, wishing like hell there was some sort of master staircase that connected all three floors instead of her traipsing around the place trying to get away.

And get away from what, exactly? It wasn't like Sesshomaru was going to be finishing up with his girlfriend anytime soon.

Rin came across a familiar hallway, realizing that she was on the opposite end of the hallway from her room. She could go in there, scrub her eyeballs with soap and watch the rain pour down from the safety of her terrace. Maybe wallow in a bit of self pity while she thought up other ways to dislike the baka.

Halfway down the hall, Rin shrieked when a hand gripped her right shoulder, pulling her to a stop and turning her to face the demon connected to said hand.

Rin gulped audibly, which was almost as embarrassing as catching him boinking someone. She looked up at his face for less than a second before staring down at the floor and then the wall and back to the floor again. Looking at anything was better than staring at him.

"Rin."

Oh God. Why did he have to say her name? She felt her eyes prick with the sting of tears. Why was she so upset? She didn't even know him!

"Look at me."

"I think I've done enough looking for one day, if it's all the same to you Sesshomaru." She muttered out, fully aware that he could hear her.

"Rin," Sesshomaru said again before reaching for her arm. Rin jerked back, more surprised at her own movement than he was, which was saying something if the widening of his eyes was any indication.

"You were seriously just having sex less than 2 minutes ago with someone else and you want to put your hands on me? I might not have superior senses, but it's incredibly insulting to try and touch me when another woman's stench is all over you." Her words came out bitter and harsh, which wasn't what she intended. Not only that, her words seemed to have some sort of impact on him and he took a full step back from her, as if she had physically struck him. Feeling ashamed of herself, Rin stepped forward to apologize. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I feel upset. I just... I don't know, okay!"

Sesshomaru nodded his head once, his eyes both cold and warm. "I am sorry to have caused you pain." The words were practically ripped from his body as if _he_ were the one in pain from having to say them. He probably didn't apologize often, if ever.

"No, please don't apologize. I'm acting crazy, really." And she was. What the heck was wrong with her, anyway? It wasn't like they were dating or even considering it. This morning she didn't even want to bump into him. Okay, she _did,_ but she didn't.

"It is understandable." Rin moved to wave him off as he walked her down the hallway, cautious to keep his hands to himself as he did so. Stopping in front of her bedroom door, Rin turned back to him with a small look of confusion.

"Why is it understandable?"

"It is the way of mates." He deadpanned, staring down at her from his advantageous height as he delivered his news to her. Rin backed into the door, using it as a crutch to keep herself grounded as she thought his outrageous words through. Her hand clutched the doorknob, twisting and untwisting it as the words sank in.

Rin stared at him for a full minute, just trying to process what had just been said to her.

"The way of mates." She repeated. Sesshomaru nodded his head, woman stank still clinging to his body from his bout of sex only ten minutes before.

"And you think that _I_ am your mate?" She continued in a calm tone of voice. Sesshomaru nodded again, no doubt wondering why she was so daft as to need a repeat of everything being said. "Does that explain your odd behavior last night?" Another discernible head nod. "Huh. So were you just planning on ignoring this mate thing between us?"

"I admit that-"

"Oh wait!" Rin interrupted him, ignoring the way his eyes narrowed at the action. No one interrupted him. Rin smacked her palm to her forehead in a dramatic fashion, smiling at how 'silly' she was being. "I just remembered that I found you upstairs, banging some woman into oblivion, all the while thinking _I_ was your mate! Not only that, but you actually hurt my feelings! I can't believe I actually kind of cared even a tiny bit for you at all, you big jerk! So how about you take your little theory of being mates and stick it up your ass, because there is no way in hell I would ever be with someone like you!"

And with that Rin slammed her door in his face and locked it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all so much for the reviews on this story! It's only been out for a few day and I already have close to 50 reviews, all of which have been so positive and nice! I'm glad that you are all enjoying the way the story is being written and it's content. Makes my day!**

 **Please feel free to leave a review and to follow/fav the story! All of the notifications I get really entice me to write more quickly than I usually do :)**

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Rin didn't come out of her room for the rest of the day. Thank God she had snacks in her overnight bag and there were glasses in the bathroom so she could drink water straight from the tap, otherwise she might have been forced to encounter the ass that was Sesshomaru.

She had sent Kagome a quick text after she had _kind of_ calmed down, letting her cousin know that she was feeling a bit under the weather and was probably just going to sleep it off. Rin had hoped Kagome would pass along the message to others, including the jerk face, and that she could be left alone to get over the painful contracting of her heart and the sadness that had seemingly overpowered every other emotion she was capable of feeling. And over one guy?

Maybe he was right about the mate thing.

Whipping out her laptop, Rin started up the Macbook Pro and launched Safari, popping a few keywords into Google about demon mates.

Most of what she read was about bonds being formed almost instantly. The next hour or so she really dug into any research and data she could find on mates, wanting to prove without a shadow of a doubt that he knew they were mates and had pretty much cheated on her anyway. Or better yet, that they were definitely _not_ mates and it was just some pick up line he used to sleep with tons of women. Although, it wasn't like he needed pick up lines. He was handsome and rich. But his personality did suck, which was also a huge deal breaker for Rin, even with other men. Maybe other women reacted to his attitude the same way? Perhaps THAT was why he needed pick up lines.

When she thought like that it made sense.

Sighing, Rin looked at the word document she had created with all of the various information she had copied down from her research, just so she could go over it again.

 ** _Demons are generally aware of when their mates are in the vicinity based on scent alone, but if the demon is distracted, has a strong prejudice against a type of mate, or even if the intended mate is masking their own scent, it could make it difficult for the demon to realize when the intended mate is in the area._**

Rin had been wearing perfume and a scented lotion yesterday, not to mention he had already decided to dislike her whenever they first met, if his comment about rank was anything to go on...

 ** _Scent is a major factor in forming a mate bond depending on the type of demon. Example is a wolf or a dog demon, both of which rely on scent to help with hunting, mating, etc. Some demons can go days, even weeks, without being aware that their intended mate has already been encountered._**

So far Rin was not liking how her research was helping the baka rather than hurting him. All she wanted to find was some website saying, 'he definitely knew who you were the WHOLE time and just wanted to screw around until you put a leash on him. Silly demon dog!'. Instead, she was finding out a lot of information she probably didn't want to know anyway.

 ** _Some demons, depending on power and age, can have a stronger reaction once encountering said mate. Some demons become excessively possessive and in some instances violent, although usually not towards the mate, when they are unknowingly confronted with their mate. This behavior is usually induced when most of the demonic tendencies can sense the bond in need of forming, but have no way of communicating it to their counterpart, thus creating irrationality and anger._**

Like demanding she not spend time with any other 'suitors' but being unable to tell her why he would demand such a stupid thing. Rin wanted to smack her head into the desk she was sitting at, but instead she kept reading from the notes she had copy and pasted.

 ** _Couples are not truly mated until the mate bond is cemented in one of two ways. Either ingestion of blood by both parties or a mating 'mark' which is essentially a bite placed anywhere on the lesser demon (in some small instances humans). Once the bite is placed, the one placing it emits a small demonic aura that mists over the one bitten. In doing this, the bitten party will smell slightly of their mate, which is done to keep other demons/suitors at bay, as the mate is no longer_ _available for others. In some cases, a type of mental 'link' is established, which usually develops within the first few weeks of a successful mating. With this, demons are able to locate their mates, depending on distance._**

Like a GPS tracker?. Ew. Definitely put that into the 'cons' list she was forming in her mind. He could find her anywhere? Maybe that would have been nice a few centuries back when phones and Google Maps weren't around, but that was a bit ridiculous in 2016. Then again, Rin didn't see Sesshomaru as the type of demon to pick up a phone, call her and ask where she was.

 ** _Life expectancy is drastically increased once the bond is formed, usually involving a bite during intercourse. Some humans will begin to age much more slowly, depending on the strength and age of their mates. There are several reports on this, some of which put the oldest human mate at over 500 years old. An example is Izayoi Taisho, mate to Inu no Taisho. Reports confirm that Izayoi was born in 1492 and was mated in the early 1500s._**

Rin's head swam. Izayoi was over 500 years old?! She didn't look a day over 40! Slamming the laptop closed, Rin jumped up from the computer and decided that _maaaaaaaybe_ she was okay with skipping whatever research she had left. Besides, who knew if the information she was gathering was even accurate. It was the internet, after all. Weirdos and jokesters put stuff on there ALL the time to scare others.

Some people just wanted to watch the world burn.

Rin looked reluctantly at the door to her bedroom, unsure if she should leave to go mingle with the others or keep herself safe inside. Sighing in defeat, Rin stood up and stretched before grabbing her iPhone and leaving the bedroom, sending a quick text to Kagome before heading downstairs.

Kagome responded back with her location (SEE, NO CREEPY DEMONIC GPS TRACKING SYSTEM NECESSARY) and Rin followed the instructions until she came to a large gaming room on the second floor. There were a lot of twists and turns before she made her way to the appropriate door, which had thankfully been left open so she could find the party easily enough. Although Rin knew from experience that finding anything in this mansion was anything but easy.

She smiled happily at her cousin, waving to Inuyasha, Miroku and who she was assuming was Sango, based on the irritated expression of the other woman's face whenever Miroku looked away from her. The woman smiled at Rin before popping Miroku upside the head when he stared for too long, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. He only took the hand Sango had used to swat at him and kissed her open palm before placing her hand in his.

"This place looks amazing," Rin called out from the entrance as she took a nice long look around her. It was almost like an arcade! Mrs. PacMan, which was her all time favorite, was against a wall along with air hockey, foosball, and a racing car game. On the other wall was a TV that was literally an entire wall by itself. On a table in a corner was an Xbox One, PS4 and various games which Rin also had at her own house. "Do you play, Inuyasha?" Rin nodded to the gaming systems.

"Oh yeah. How about you?"

"Definitely. We should swap gamer tags and maybe play together sometime. I'm pretty decent." Actually, she was insanely amazing. Especially when it came to first person shooter games. Rin's friend in high school had recommended it to help with her anger issues as an adolescent and Rin hadn't been able to give up the hobby whenever she had entered into adulthood. Besides, it wasn't like she had much of a love/social life anyway, so it was a great way to pass the time in-between writing.

"Come sit! What do you want to drink?" Rin took the open seat closest to the door, grabbing a deck of cards and shuffling.

Without waiting for an answer, Kagome moved behind the little bar, taking out a shaker and a few bottled liquids before combining them, shaking them and then distributing the liquid into a cup. "How about a margarita?"

Rin took the offered cup, thanked Kagome and took a sip before making a face. "Are you sure this isn't just straight up tequila?" Rin asked through the burning in her throat. She coughed slightly before taking another sip. Yeah, Rin was almost positive there wasn't any margarita mix inside of her cup, which was hilarious because Rin had just seen Kagome mixing it all together. Hopefully she wasn't as bad of a cook as she as a mixologist.

"Oh, kami! I always put too much of the alcohol in."

"Feh, the alcohol is the best part anyway, Kagome." Inuyasha reassured her as she moved back to the table. Inuyasha reached out and snatched her waist, ushering her over to him until she was sitting on his lap, drinking her own margarita. Rin smiled at the happy couple, wishing she had something like that in her life. Instead, she had a too proud, arrogant, man whore who most likely would have preferred ignoring her existence than actually doing anything about it.

Eh. It was neither here nor there, Rin decided. She just wanted to forget like the first half of the day never happened.

After a few more drinks, Rin was relaxed enough to truly enjoy herself. The more she drank, the warmer the room got, which had led to her removing her sweater. Luckily she was a wearing a black spaghetti striped tank top underneath, but Rin was too the point where she wouldn't have cared so much if she was only in a bra. It was that warm.

"Gin Rummy!" Hollered Miroku, tossing his cards onto the table and dancing around the room in some sort of victory celebration.

"Congratulations, Miroku. You have won one came out of twelve." Sango deadpanned before the rest of the group laughed loudly.

"Do you think you should invite Sesshomaru to the party?" Kagome asked sweetly, her eyes bright with alcohol and what Rin would have said was mischief if she had been around her cousin longer. Instead, she brushed off the look and focused on what Inuyasha planned to say next.

"Probably not a good idea. He's been in a separate wing of the house drinking for hours. Some reason he's in a more foul mood than usual."

"Really?" Rin piped up, accidentally knocking over her empty plastic cup in the process. Inuyasha looked at her oddly, as if he was trying to figure her out.

"Oh yeah. I mean, he's always in a bad mood. He's been like that since humans took over everything, but today it's been especially gruesome. Which I wouldn't have expected, since I heard him fucking some demon for nearly an hour this morning. I've always assumed sex fixed anything." Kagome swatted his arm before kissing his cheek and standing to make another drink for everyone.

Rin rolled her eyes. "No need to elaborate on that. I caught a front row seat when I was exploring earlier." And there went her good mood.

Kagome and Sango gasped at her news. "Oh gross!" "You definitely need another drink for that."

"Yeah, it wasn't really how I thought my day was going to go. I mean, it got a little worse after that because he followed me to apologize, but eh. What can you do?"

"Wait. What did you say?" Inuyasha sat up with interest.

Rin ran her hands through her long hair, taking a second to enjoy how silky it was. Was her hair always so silky smooth? Inuyasha cleared his throat to gain her attention. "Oh! Sorry. But yeah, I mean. What can you do in that kind of situation?" She put on her Sesshomaru voice. " _I am sorry to have caused you pain. Blah, blah, blah. We are mates. Blah, blah."_ She cleared her throat. "Really, though. What can you do? So I just told him to fuck off." She cleared her throat again, unsure if it was thick with emotion or she was more drunk than she realized.

"Men are such jerks!" Sango said as she jumped up. The movement jarred the table and the woman flew backwards and would have fallen, if Miroku hadn't caught her in his arms.

"And I think Sango and I are going to call it a night." Miroku swung the woman into his arms, who protested the move but held onto him like her life depended on it. "Good night everyone." And with that, there were only three of them left.

Inuyasha stared at Rin, seemingly dumbfounded. "He said you were mates?"

"Well, he said my pain was understandable as it was 'the way of mates' or something like that. Do we really need to talk about it?"

"Really, Inuyasha. Just drop it, okay?" Kagome came back around with drinks, handing Rin an even stronger 'margarita' than she'd been having throughout the night. She drank it more quickly than she intended, mostly to keep herself from talking any more about the situation.

"Sesshomaru is many godawful things, but disloyal isn't one of them. I just can't believe he would sleep with someone else if he knew who you were to him."

"Yeah. Well. I don't think you could call what I saw upstairs as 'sleeping'."

"I just mean, he wouldn't have purposely betrayed your trust or your bond."

Talk about a bro code. Kagome rolled her eyes and Rin laughed sadly. "It's what it is. The damage is done. How could I want to be with someone who, not only is a jerk, but who would betray the trust of some sacred mate bond, unknowingly or not? It doesn't matter anyway. As soon as the roads clear up we're all going to be out of here and I highly doubt I'm going to see him again aside from the occasional family get together, if he can bear to attend due to all the humans who will be around."

Inuyasha snickered. "If you're the reason he's drinking in the East Wing for the first time in about 30 years, I doubt you'll be seeing him on occasion." Inuyasha pondered something for a moment before speaking up. "Hey, Rin? When he starts groveling for your forgiveness, will you do me a favor and take a photo of him begging on his knees. I always wanted to know what that would look like."

Kagome swatted Inuyasha's arm. "Knock it off, Inuyasha! This is serious. Right, Rin?"

"No, it's not serious. Nothing is going to happen with me and your new brother. I'm over it already." Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up at her words before he laughed again and shook his head. "Hey, I'm serious! Mates or not, I don't need a man in my life. Especially that kind of man. He's too bossy anyway. And how old did you say he was?"

"I didn't. But since you asked, he's well over 700 years old." Rin's jaw dropped before Kagome reached out and lifted it up for her.

"Thanks, Gome." He was that old? Add that to the cons pile. Definitely to the cons pile. Rin stood up and waited for the room to come to nice halt before she began walking towards the door. "I think I'm going to call it a night. If I don't see you guys before either of us leave tomorrow, just know that you are both super awesome, your wedding was great and you are a wonderful couple. Oh and if you cheat on her, Inuyasha, I'll cut off your balls and give them to your brother."

"Jesus Christ."

"Rin, you're such a great cousin!"

And with that, Rin waved behind her and left the room.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she went the wrong way." Inuyasha said quietly after Rin departed.

"Oh, kami. I should go get her!" Kagome tried to jump up but was held down by Inuyasha's strong arms at her waist.

"Nah. Leave her alone."

"What, why on earth would I do that? She could get lost for literally days in this maze your parents call a home!"

"Well, as she is heading to the east wing where Sesshomaru is currently drinking away his sour mood, I say we just let the chips fall where they may. He isn't going to leave her all alone and lost in the house." Kagome snorted.

"That is extremely diabolical."

"Isn't that why you married me?"


	5. Chapter 5

**I know, it's been forever since I updated. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

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Rin wandered rather aimlessly through corridor number six. Or was it seven? To be honest, she was having a really difficult time remembering anything at the moment. It might have had to do with all the alcohol. Okay, definitely had to do with all of the alcohol. She looked down as she stumbled over literally nothing, sighing happily when she realized there was a drink in her hand.

Taking a large gulp, Rin kept walking. She was lost. Had to be lost. In fact, Rin definitely did not remember seeing any of this during her tour earlier that morning.

Or was it yesterday morning? She looked down at her watch, noting the time was 3:17am. It was pitch black outside, or there were really dark drapes over the windows. To be honest, her head swam a bit when she looked around, completely unable to adjust to her surroundings.

Rin was close to giving up on her journey, intent on turning back to find Kagome, when she heard what sounded like glass shattering and a slight curse from just down the darkened hallway.

"Hello?" She called out, drunkenly stumbling yet again. Thank God the wall broke her fall as she landed against it with a thump, otherwise it might have been embarrassing. Silence was all that greeted her as she stood up, bracing her drink free hand against the wall and slowly pushing off of it, determined to encounter whoever was lurking a little ways ahead of her.

 _What if it's Sesshomaru?_ A dark thought whispered out to Rin, almost stopping her in her tracks. Had she been sober, she probably would have turned tail and sprinted back the way she had come. But she was drunk and foolish. A darker part of her hoped it was him, lurking around in the shadows, pissed off and throwing what she assumed to be rather expensive crystal drinking glasses.

He seemed refined enough for such tastes, whereas she was currently drinking from a red solo cup. Rin looked down and frowned. Where the hell did her cup go? She meant to turn around in search of her delicious tequila, but her legs had a mind of their own.

Finally, after what seemed like decades, Rin found a large door that was slightly ajar. From the flickering of amber light that filled what she could see of the room, she also surmised there was a lit fireplace in said room. Without another thought, Rin opened the door, uncaring as it creaked open ominously before her.

She poked her head through, calling out softly as to not disturb whoever else might be on the floor.

After a few moments when silence was her only answer, Rin stepped through the doorway. The room was luxurious, which one would expect after seeing the rest of the mansion. It looked like she had stepped into a living area, if the closed doors along the wall were any sort of indicator.

There was a mahogany desk along the wall, an iMac sitting atop it. A leather couch sat in the middle of the floor, several feet in front of the fireplace, no doubt placed so that one might enjoy the fire without feeling overwhelmed by it.

Rin took another hesitant step forward, looking down at her flats when they crunched under glass. From the looks of it; crystal. She figured as much. With an eye roll, Rin looked around, knowing she wasn't alone. She could practically feel eyes on her, though she couldn't see into the darkest parts of the room, even with the firelight.

"Sesshomaru, are you in here?" She called, knowing he was. She didn't want to buy into all of the mate bullshit, but it was as if she could sense him in the room with her. His pain, if she could actually believe he was capable of feeling such a thing. Rin probably only wanted him to feel pain and remorse for hurting her feelings, so she was drunkenly 'sensing' him. No way was she turning into some sort of psychic. As if.

Still no answer. Rin walked closer to the large, long leather sectional. Or she would have, had she not slipped on the liquid that had apparently been inside the glass. Arms flailing, Rin fell backwards and landed harshly onto the hardwood floor and onto shards of glass, crying out when she tried to sit up, glass stabbing into her palms. She felt her skin tear, blood gushing out of her palms.

An instant later, one of the doors in the room she had noticed earlier was ripped open, a very startled, wet and barely clothed Sesshomaru staring at her almost as if she was a mirage before rushing forward to help her up.

"Rin. What are you doing here?" He asked as he hauled her up by her forearms, furrowing his brow as he looked at her bleeding hands. He sniffed audibly, which seemed like odd behavior for him, even as a dog demon. "You are bleeding on your legs as well."

"Oh." Rin couldn't stop staring at him. Having seen him banging someone earlier, one would have thought she had seen enough off him to last her a lifetime. Instead, she was staring at his bare chest. She didn't think she could look away even if she tried her best. Staring at the droplets of water that were coming from his hair and making their way down to the towel wrapped around his waist, Rin felt both highly intoxicated and shockingly sober. He was muscular, his upper body defined in a way that made Rin believe that he probably spent several hours in a gym per week, if not daily.

Her mouth watered, which was she sure was from dehydration after all the alcohol.

"What are you doing here?" Sesshomaru asked again, leading her over to the couch and having her sit. When she did, she felt the glass in her legs and backside, jerking up from the shocking pain and standing before him. "Oh hell. I forgot." He murmured, shaking his head at himself in disgust. Rin assumed his disgust was due to the heavy drinking.

"I got lost and then I heard what sounded a bit like a temper tantrum." She turned her upper body, hoping to find some glass sticking out of her right butt cheek so that she could pull it out. Unfortunately her vision was blurry to the point where it was difficult to discern where the glass was. "Do you have any tweezers?" She left a bloody hand print on her butt as she frantically searched for the source of her pain, groaning irritably when she came up short.

A second later, Sesshomaru had removed the towel from around his waist, using it to staunch the flow of blood that was coming from the palms of her hands.

"Oh my God! Put some clothes on, Sesshomaru!" Rin felt her face flush in embarrassment as he stood next to her, seemingly unaware (or uncaring) of the situation they were in. She didn't want to see him naked! She ignored the sting in her hands as the damp towel began to soak up the blood covering her exposed skin.

"You would have seen all of me eventually." He responded. "And I, you."

"Well that's extremely cocky of you." She looked down at him and then flushed before looking back up. "I meant conceited. Definitely meant conceited." What was wrong with her? Oh wait, probably had something to do with the most infuriatingly gorgeous man standing before her. Did all of him have to be so perfect? It was maddening.

Sesshomaru smirked at her words before leading her away from the couch and into his bedroom. Once there, he led her through another door that happened to be a bathroom. There was steam still on the mirror above the sink. Reaching into a drawer, Sesshomaru pulled out a pair of tweezers before removing the towel on her hands and getting to work.

After a few minutes, all of the glass was out of her hands. Rin sighed in relief as he ran cold water over her palms, ridding them of the excess blood before grabbing a hand towel and cleaning her up.

"You need to remove your clothing."

"What? There is no way I am undressing for you, Sesshomaru. I might have drank a whole hell of a lot tonight, but I didn't drink _that_ much." She wasn't going to take her pants off. No way. Right? Seeing him clad in absolutely nothing, Rin had a rather dangerous thought. Would it really be that bad if she just took her clothes off? It _was_ only fair considering he had shed his only form of clothing to assist Rin.

"I need to get the glass out of your body. I cannot do that with your clothing on."

Rolling her eyes, Rin quickly removed her pants and shoes, trying desperately hard to not think about the fact that she was in fact without pants in front of someone who thought she was his mate.

 _Think about the fact that he was having sex with someone who was not you, less than 24 hours ago._

And just like that, any momentary desire she had begun to feel was washed away, replaced by a sharp sting of pain that strongly resembled the glass that entered her body. Fantastic. Would she ever get over that? And the fact that it bothered her meant that Rin knew, on some level, that she did belong to him. And he belonged to her, which was what made everything so much more difficult to bear.

"Are you alright?" Sesshomaru asked her, almost as if he could sense her inner turmoil. As if he was her mate. Rin felt a prickle of tears beginning and sniffed audibly. Why did she have to drink so much? Now she was going to be a blubbering mess and that was the absolute last thing she needed.

"I'm fine."

"Rin." He said to her, in what was far more soothing than should have been possible, given that he was a horrendous jerk face. The tone of his voice along with the pitiful expression he cast at her made her want to fall on the ground and weep at the bitterness of the situation.

"I shouldn't have come in here. I should go." More tears. Rin tried to leave the bathroom, which was a bit impossible as Sesshomaru blocked her exit, pulling her into his arms and hugging her close. "I don't know what's wrong with me." Yes she did. And matters weren't improved by being pressed against him, her face buried into chest. It was impossible to not become more intoxicated just by Sesshomaru's unique scent. Rin was willing to bet she could write about the way he smelled for several pages. Maybe chapters. Obviously whatever her words were, they would only be for her. Even if Sesshomaru wasn't hers alone physically, at least she could imagine it being so. She could keep whatever she knew of him to herself.

"I don't want you to go." Rin groaned into him before pushing away from his body. He pulled her even closer, nuzzling her hair and inhaling her scent. It was as if her struggles were useless, which made sense. Rin wasn't trying very hard to escape the warmth of Sesshomaru's body. It was as if some sort of electric current ran from both of them, connecting in the middle and joining them together. It was startling in its power of her. Was Sesshomaru feeling the same way?

Feeling the buzz of alcohol swimming around her, Rin doubted he felt the same way.

"You aren't being fair."

"At least let me tend to the wounds on your leg." And with that, his hands were on Rin's bare legs as he knelt down before her. Inuyasha had been right. Seeing Sesshomaru on his knees was definitely something to be seen.

Rin doubted Inuyasha would have enjoyed a photo of his brother sans clothing, however.

* * *

Rin sat up, an unfamiliar silk sheet falling around her bare shoulders. Her hair was all around her, covering her bare chest and falling around her in a slightly tangled mess. She looked over the large bed she was occupying, noticing an indent of another person on the spot next to her. Surely she hadn't slept with Sesshomaru... Right?

Rin looked around, hoping to find herself in the bedroom that had been given to her from Inuyasha's parents. Instead, she found herself in an equally unfamiliar bedroom as she stared around her in bewilderment. Slamming her eyes closed, Rin winced at the throbbing in her head, feeling nauseous. Her head hurt, her legs hurt and her hands hurt. In fact, Rin was having a hard time finding something on her body that didn't hurt.

Looking down at herself, Rin remembered finding Sesshomaru's living quarters. She had slipped on broken glass and cut herself in several places. The wounds on her hands looked superficial enough to not need stitches. Finding her clothes folded in a chair a few feet from the large bed, Rin hopped up, sheet tucked around her body and moved to gather her things.

Rin knew she hadn't had sex with Sesshomaru, even as drunk as they both had been. Even after only seeing him briefly going at it with someone else, Rin was positive there was no way she could forget a sexual night with Sesshomaru. She did feel like there was something she was missing, if the twinges in her shoulder and neck were any sort of indication. Maybe she had pulled a muscle when she had fallen a few hours before?

Feeling more than a little embarrassed, Rin decided in that moment that fleeing the mansion, even if the roads were still flooded, was her best bet.

Dressing quickly, she winced at a pain on the side of her neck. A twinge really. Attempting to rub the sore spot, Rin's brow furrowed when she felt a few odd markings where she was sore. Were they bug bites? Looking around, Rin couldn't find her shoes but then she remembered taking them off the night before when she had been in the bathroom with Sesshomaru. Deciding shoes weren't necessary as she needed to make a hasty getaway, Rin opened the bedroom door and peered out into the living area.

Where was Sesshomaru at? Not that it mattered as long as he was out of her sight, it would be easier to disappear into oblivion if he wasn't present when she made her escape. Hell, considering Sesshomaru had made himself scarce only hardened Rin's resolve. If he hadn't regretted waking up next to her in bed, where was he?

With that, Rin fled the east wing.

* * *

Taking the first available car, Rin climbed into the backseat, her belongings stuffed into the trunk; a strong feeling of anxiety in her heart and mind.

Rin had said goodbye to Kagome and the others, thanking her lucky stars that for whatever reason, Sesshomaru had been unable to bump into her at any point during the morning.

Sunglasses covering her bloodshot eyes, Rin sat back in her seat and told the driver to take her to the airport. It was time for her to get back to reality and to pretend certain aspects of her weekend had never existed. Especially meeting Sesshomaru. She needed to forget he ever entered her life, even for such a brief period of time.

Ignoring the pain that seemed to be spreading through her entire body, Rin left the mansion and her supposed mate behind.

* * *

 **End of Part 1  
(but yes, there is a part 2 that will be in this same story, so don't worry lol)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am not sure how many of y'all have read one of my other SesshxRin stories, 'The Unfortunate Wedding'. WELL. I have received countless reviews and direct messages asking me to do an epilogue and for the longest time, I wasn't going to, because I feel like nearly every story with them results in a baby, so it seemed kind of redundant.**

 **But the other night, I was driving home and *BOOM*. An idea hit me like a ton of bricks.**

 **So it's going to be listed as an entirely new story. It's only going to be about 1500-3000 words and only one chapter long. But I think you guys will enjoy it :)**

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She stared blankly at the screen.

Nothing. There was nothing inside. Inside of her, inside the screen. Just blankness. Almost as if a black hole had appeared before her and swallowed up everything of importance, leaving nothing behind but the emptiness. The void inside her.

Rin sighed dramatically, closing the laptop with an ominous thud and stood from the desk in her office, stretching the muscles in her back before deciding a break from her writing was probably for the best.

It was easy to think that way when it had been several weeks since she had worked on the latest book. 'Writing' was heavily overstated. Rin couldn't even remember the last time she was able to form a coherent thought about her latest romance novel. She had been nearly halfway through said novel before Kagome's wedding, but ever since... It was hard to think of any other man aside from the snarly, jackass she had left behind after a night of drunken mistakes, let alone attempt to write about an imaginary man wooing some woman.

And all of the sex in her stories. God. Did she even want to try and go there?

The first day she returned from her trip, Rin had been adamant about writing. It hadn't gotten any further than reading the last chapter, only to find herself imagining Sesshomaru as the lead character. Rin had replaced the heroine and a lot of particular thoughts had consumed her until she could barely think straight. The thoughts had frightened Rin so thoroughly she hadn't even picked up the story where she had left it, worried where her mind would take her.

It seemed her mind was also attempting to give her a small respite, as she couldn't think of a single thing to add to her unfinished story. Which wasn't good, considering how she needed to have this latest book ready to go to the editor in the next three weeks before it was set to be published. The release date was set for the beginning of February, which was only a little over 3 months away. Rin was cutting it close, but she was beginning to suspect her release date would need to be pushed back.

She blamed that dog, Sesshomaru.

Reflexively Rin lifted her hand to her shoulder, squeezing the two tiny puncture wounds she was now sure were more than just 'bug bites'. How delusional had she been when she had fled from Sesshomaru all those weeks ago? Maybe not delusional... But definitely in denial. When Rin had done some of her research prior to the bite, the pictures she had looked at had all been so prominent. It was obvious what they were, but the ones on her neck were so delicate, almost as if Sesshomaru had only grazed her neck with his fangs.

But the scoundrel _had_ bitten her at some point in the evening, which was an event she obviously didn't remember. More likely, couldn't remember due to all of the alcohol.

 _Maybe you just don't want to remember,_ a tiny and bitchy voice whispered in her mind. Rin rolled her eyes, moving from the office and towards the kitchen of her large new home. She had purchased it only about 9 months ago when her first book was picked up as a movie. She had been requested to write the script, which she had in 3 days an the producers and director had loved it, so her portion of collaboration was finished. It even came with a fantastic seven figure check, which had helped her buy such a nice home at a quick rate.

Opening the fridge, Rin stared blankly at the contents inside. She had her choice of juices, different cheeses, fruits, veggies and some left over pizza (judging by her last human encounter, Rin suspected the pizza box had long over stayed its welcome). She took it out and barely sniffed before feeling queasy. Oh yeah, it was time for the pizza to go.

Rin placed the 4 slices in a large ziplock bag, sealing them in and tossing them into the empty trash can. That way she could be lazy with the pizza removal and not have to worry about any lingering smell.

Once her task was completed, Rin returned to the refrigerator.

Nothing seemed appetizing. She cast a side long glance at the kitchen cabinets that housed some of her favorite meals; Top Ramen. Instead, she cringed and reached inside the refrigerator, grabbing a container filled with orange juice. No pulp, for obvious reasons. No need to have something that felt like snot trailing down her throat while consuming an otherwise tasty beverage.

Orange juice was one of the only things she could stomach regularly since her return. Rin often felt ill at ease, both mentally and physically. It had been over a week since she left her house, having rather hidden out than engaged with any population of people. She felt odd, not herself. Almost as if she wasn't complete and some part of her was withering away into nothingness.

Drinking straight from the carton, Rin walked into the living room and picked up her cell phone, noticing she had several missed calls from Kagome and a few texts.

 _'Why aren't you answering your phone?'_

 _'I'm a bit worried. Can you call?'_

 _'There is something I have to tell you. PLEASE CALL ME BACK'_

 _'Seriously, Rin. It's about Sesshomaru! Come on, pick up!'_

 _'If you don't answer me back, I swear on my marriage I will HUNT. YOU. DOWN.'_

 _'Man, even threats aren't working?!'_

Rin rolled her eyes, dropping the phone back onto the couch and laying next to it before flipping on the TV to alleviate some of the noise that was constantly buzzing through her mind. No real thoughts or anything that made much sense, just noise. Almost as if she were picking up a faint signal from an old radio. She understood that something was on the other side, but it was impossible to understand on account of all the static.

It made Rin sound and feel crazy. She thought someone was trying to communicate with her? As if. It was most likely her imagination. She had done so much reading about mates while she stayed at the mansion, she was obviously creating signs of being bonded out of some sort of misguided attempt to figure out the enigma that was Sesshomaru. He bit her and then never called her? Didn't even bother to see her out of his bedroom the next morning!

Rin was even making herself believe that being without him was causing her symptoms of distress; like lack of hunger and self worth.

No doubt Rin was losing her mind. And over such a jackass! How desperate could she be?! If they were mates, Rin would have known. She highly doubted someone as 'noble' (so people said) as Sesshomaru would ever leave his supposed mate hurting. Which meant that they were not mates. Sesshomaru was just as insane as she was. And was that really a good combination of dating? Rin didn't think so.

She stared back down at the cell phone, which almost seemed to be mocking her.

Maybe she should give Kagome a call after all. What could it hurt?

* * *

Turns out, it could hurt a lot. Rin tried to suck in another breath of air, but was unsuccessful. She felt like she was dying. Her lungs weren't working right and the walls were closing in on her.

"Rin? Rin are you alright?" Kagome called out for her, sounding as distressed as Rin felt. Trying to speak, all Rin could do was wheeze and then cough, which made her throat sore and her lungs burn.

"Oh God, I should have told you in person! Rin, put your head between your knees and breathe lightly. Short breaths until you feel like you can take bigger ones, okay? It's completely normal to have a panic attack."

Rin did as instructed, all the while the phrases 'a panic attack' and 'engaged to be married' floated through Rin's mind. Engaged to be married?! And obviously it wasn't to Rin, whom Sesshomaru had apparently kicked to the curb after a night of cuddling in his bed. NOPE. Apparently it had been leaked to several demon tabloids that Sesshomaru was engaged to his 'long time' girlfriend, who was obviously another demon.

"Inuyasha thinks it's a fake story. You know, something to just sell some magazines. But Rin. It's everywhere. I just... I didn't want you to find out on your own, okay? I mean, if it is real."

"You-you think it's fake?" Rin sat up slowly, taking several calming breaths like she generally did in yoga. She just needed to focus and to relax her body.

"Inuyasha does. Something about how Sesshomaru wouldn't forsake his mate and him being too honorable. But Rin, you haven't heard from Sesshomaru since you felt here, right? I mean, you haven't really said anything." Rin hadn't said much to anyone since she fled.

"No. No, I haven't heard anything from him. I didn't even see him after I woke up naked in his bed."

"YOU HAD SEX?!"

"What?! No, NO. I slipped and fell on a drink he had thrown. There was glass all in my legs and my shirt was soaked in like whiskey or bourbon. So when we were drunk and he was cleaning the cuts and stuff... I just kind of took off all my clothes. It's not like he was wearing much else, Kagome."

"Wow, and I thought Sesshomaru was the dog, you dirty girl!"

"Oh God, Kagome. Can we not joke about this now? Especially after him apparently biting me, which I don't remember. I mean, I can still feel them on my neck. Is that normal? Do you think he's engaged?"

There was a beat of silence before Kagome exhaled slowly and into the phone.

"He bit you?"

"I don't remember him doing it, but yeah, I think he did. Very least he grazed me with them. Maybe it was an accident while we were sleeping." Which would make sense as to why he hightailed it out of there the next morning. Or he was just repulsed by her human body. Rin sighed.

"I just know that he's dated this demon on and off again for several years. At one point in time they were engaged at the insistence of her father, but Sesshomaru sin't the type who likes being told what to do, so be broke things off. I know they were not together whenever he was at the wedding, but I also know she called and spoke with him after you left and he agreed to meet her. I don't know what it was about."

Rin felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. All that time focusing on breathing methods and relaxation and she was out of breath again. She felt a trickle of tears and ultimately, she felt betrayed. Something that cut into her deeply, body and soul. Was that how it felt? To be mated and then treated so poorly? If Rin had thought she had found her soulmate, she wouldn't do something so heinous.

"Oh." It was all she could say. The only thing she could force out. It sounded hollow and broken, just like she was.

"Oh, Rin. Please don't be sad. It could be nothing. Besides, he told you that you were mates, that's not something that goes away. I don't think he would just become engaged to someone else."

Rin didn't want to be mated to anyone anyway, let alone to some sort of player like Sesshomaru. She was fine being on her own. Truly fine. Rin ignored the sniffle that escaped and the wetness that appeared on her cheeks.

"Rin? Are you okay? It's been about 10 minutes and you haven't said anything." 10 minutes?

"I-I should go, Gome. Thanks for calling." And Rin hung up, silencing her phone before tossing it back onto the couch. Why had she decided to call? For some human interaction?

Worst decision she had made all week, picking up that phone and calling.

Filled with grief, Rin went back into her study, fired up her laptop and began typing. Rin typed well into the night, not stopping once for anything, until she looked at her completed story. It wasn't a happy ending. And how could it be? Life was full of pain, most of which people suffered for no good reason.

Maybe once she felt better she would write another story featuring the same characters. About redemption and forgiveness. But not this time.

Sometimes the hero was really the villain.

Saving the file before sending it to her editor, Rin almost missed a notification in her inbox.

Looking over the email subject, which was just 'Talk', Rin narrowed her eyes when she realized it was an email sent from Sesshomaru's work address. Either that or she knew another Sesshomaru Taisho, which was extremely unlikely. How many people would actually want to name their child 'The Killing Perfection'? Gross.

 _Oh yeah, sure. 'Gross' is what you think when you think of Sesshomaru._ Rin rolled her eyes at herself before coming back to her decision on whether to open the email or to just immediately delete it.

Rin sat there for several minutes, only growing more indecisive as the seconds ticked by. What if she opened it and it was just Sesshomaru confirming that he was in fact engaged and wanted nothing to do with Rin? What if he wanted Rin to be his mistress? God, what if it was just like a chainmail or something?

There was a loud ring that echoed through her house, making Rin jump in her seat. She looked at the clock on her laptop. It was 3:15 in the morning. Who was at her house and ringing her doorbell?

After the ringing noise subsided, Rin decided to ignore whoever was waiting for her (most likely a serial killer at this early in the morning) and to open the email. Her luck, Sesshomaru had probably sent it to her on accident.

Clicking on the email, Rin found herself momentarily confused when its contents were displayed.

The subject was 'talk', but there weren't any words typed into the email, only a screenshot of a... plane itinerary.

What? She looked at it more closely, eyes widening when she noticed that the departure time was for several hours ago. Landing time was for 1:30am. At the closest airport to her house. It was a first class ticket. For Sesshomaru.

Rin knew from her recent trip from the airport that it took about an hour and a half to make it to her house from the airport. It was now 3:17am. Just enough time to grab luggage and get a taxi to her house.

The doorbell rang again, far more ominous than the previous sound.

Rin looked toward the front door with a feeling of both dread and elation.


	7. Chapter 7

**Two updates in one day?! My goodness! I didn't want to leave you guys with a cliff hanger, obvi. BTW, I don't think anyone expected this turn of events (I didn't until I wrote it).**

 **I hope you all enjoy the story and please be so kind as to leave a review!**

* * *

"You can't just barge into my home." Rin said vehemently to the dog demon that was strutting around her home as if he owned it.

After working up the courage to leave the comfort of her office, Rin had decided to take a peek through the peephole in her front door. As the email had hinted, it was obviously Sesshomaru standing on the other side, waiting to be let in.

Rin hadn't let him inside. She had just stood on the other side of the door, holding her breath. She might have pinched herself, given the lack of sleep and countless hours of staring at a computer screen, because she knew without a doubt she was seeing someone who wasn't there. Surely she had been hallucinating, she had told herself.

No one in their right mind would just show up on someone else's doorstep in the middle of the night, especially when said owner of doorstep had never given out information such as; what the address was or what city/state she might live in. Yet that hadn't stopped Sesshomaru.

In fact, after a few minutes of her just staring frozenly through the peephole, Sesshomaru had decided to let himself in. Rin had jumped back when the doorknob had turned effortlessly in front of her, shocked by what was happening.

 _Yeah, nice going on forgetting to lock your own door. Dumbass._

She really needed to get a dog if she was going to continue to live out in the middle of nowhere. At the thought, Rin peeked her head up and cast a covert glance at the demon roaming about her living room. Well. She _kind of_ had a dog.

"Are you going to say anything?" Rin scowled as Sesshomaru picked up a photo of Rin and a few friends from college. She hadn't seen them in quite sometime, but the affection she had for them had never diminished. Some bonds were just like that.

Speaking of bonds... Rin rubbed her shoulder before glaring at Sesshomaru's back. Ever since he had walked into her house, her shoulder had ached. More specifically, the two healed puncture wounds on her shoulder had ached.

 _Not a good sign,_ she thought to herself.

"Your house is very human." Sesshomaru answered after another round of investigating her living room.

"Thank you?" He continued to walk at a leisurely pace, his bags forgotten in her doorway. And yes, he had brought in _bags._ As in more than one. There were at least 4 that she could see. That might not have worried Rin had Sesshomaru taken a taxi, but he had apparently rented a car and driven here from the airport. There was no reason his things should be in her house and not in his SUV. She decided to glare at the suitcases instead of his back, hoping they would wilt under her vicious gaze.

No such luck.

"Why are your belongings in my house?" At that, Sesshomaru turned from his perusal, staring at Rin intensely before answering.

"I will be staying here." Her eyes widened to the point she became worried they would pop right out her head.

"Oh hell no. No. No way. You're joking. Yeah, you're joking." He studied her for a few more minutes. The silence stretched on between them, leaving nothing more than for them to speak through their looks.

Rin might have engaged him in a battle of wills, but for some strange reason, she couldn't do anything but think how good he looked. Sesshomaru looked as good as she remembered. His hair was long and seemed to have a life of its own, moving with him gracefully. He was just as tall and muscular than she remembered seeing him in her drunken state a few weeks back. In fact, she wondered if he would look as perfect naked while she was sober and with nothing to hamper her ability to remember. His skin was as ethereal as ever and the markings on his face were even more prominent in the dim lighting than she would have thought possible. Sesshomaru was in a suit, dark grey, with a white button up white shirt and lavender tie. The tie matched his stripes almost perfectly.

Almost _too_ perfectly.

"Did your fiancé pick out that tie for you?" Rin was willing to bet yes. Her eyes narrowed on the offending material and she saw herself grabbing the fabric and yanking, choking Sesshomaru with it until his face was a nice shade of red.

The vivid image made her smile to herself. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her and for a horrible second Rin thought he had somehow read that thought from her. She felt a subtle brush across her mind before it was gone an instant later. Rin shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her and taking a few cautious steps away from the demon in front of her. She felt invaded; in her mind, body and home. The past few weeks of living in oblivion had been perfect and now she had a strange feeling reality had come into her home when Sesshomaru had.

"Look, I'm not sure why you're here." _Yes, you are._ "Is there a reason why this couldn't wait until the morning? Or better yet, why this couldn't be done with a phone call?" And better yet, who looked so good that early in the morning? Rin didn't even want to look at herself in the mirror right then, certain she would look ghastly in comparison to him.

"You have not been well, Rin." The words were slow and drawn out. The way Sesshomaru said her name... Her eyelids nearly closed at the sound of her name on his lips.

"I'm fine, Sesshomaru." Although seeing him here in her room, Rin had to admit that she hadn't felt this alive in almost a month, maybe longer.

"I did not realize the full effects of the mating mark until I spoke with Father." Now it was her turn to raise an unruly eyebrow in his direction.

"So you did bite me." Rin forced out, turning away from him to pace back and forth across the rug in the center of her living room, careful to keep a respectable distance. She bit on her thumb, her brow furrowed with worry. When she looked up at him, Sesshomaru looked slightly chagrined, which didn't seem to fit with his personality. He didn't seem the type of person who conceded to any sort of mistake, nor one to look remorseful.

"It was not my intention."

"Right. Well, I believe that, considering I haven't heard from you since I woke up without my clothes in your bed." She felt another small wave of hurt overcome her and from the tensing of Sesshomaru's body, she assumed he could smell it on her.

"Rin."

"I don't want to talk about that. I want to know why you're here."

"I received a message from Inuyasha. I was not sure if you would answer had I simply called."

"Okay... You still aren't answering my question."

"I am not attached to another. Only to you. I have not entertained the notion of another since I realized you were mine."

Rin rolled her eyes at his last sentence, although the rest of her nearly collapsed from the relief that settled somewhere suspiciously close the region of her heart. The lightness was heady.

"Well, thank you for letting me know that. See? You didn't need to pack a bunch of bags just for that. Now you can go about your life without worry about my feelings on this whole engagement nonsense." Now that she knew he wasn't with anyone else, Rin wanted him gone. How strange was that?

Sesshomaru set her on edge. He was too handsome. Too powerful. Too _everything._ It made her wary to be in his presence, as if she could never live up to him. As if she would become reliant on him and suffer worse when he inevitably decided she wasn't what he wanted.

Glancing down at her Under Armour sweats, tank top and bare feet, she had to admit that she wasn't even in the same category as Sesshomaru. Not to mention he didn't have a thing for humans and she didn't have much of a thing for him either. He worked for a no nonsense company and she was a romance author.

"You do not understand. I cannot simply leave."

Rin rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands before looking up at him. It was a bit of a difficult task as he was over a foot taller than her. "Why can't you go? Please explain it to me."

Sesshomaru stepped forward, reaching forward to place a hand on her shoulder before speaking. "Some mate bonds have difficulty forming with such little intimacy. Even with a bite, it is often after several months, even years before a strong bond is formed and that is created through close, prolonged contact. When we spent the evening together, I didn't fully bite into your skin." He rubbed the invisible marking and Rin moaned lowly before choking the rest of it down and pushing his arm away from her. "What I did not anticipate was the bond cementing with such little of a connection, physically or mentally."

"Why do you think it's formed? How can you tell?" Rin asked worriedly, although she already knew she had been suffering from some sort of withdrawal.

"It is often more stressful for the bearer of the mark than it is on the one who bestows it." _Fantastic._ "I can tell you have lost weight. Your lack of interest in food is due to my absence, as well as any sort of distress you might be feeling." He looked her up and down. "When was the last time you left this place?"

Rin straightened, running a hand through her messy hair and shooting him a glare. "I don't see how that's any of your business. And actually, I was out all day. With several men at a bar. Drinking it up." The lie rolled off her lips with ease and she smirked at him in triumph. He raised another brow at her, as if he could smell her bullshit.

"It is difficult to be deceptive to your mate."

"Ugh. Why are you so annoying?!" Rin turned from him and found herself in the kitchen, suddenly ravenous for anything she could get her hands on. Popping her refrigerator open, Rin stared glumly at the contents inside. All of the fruit and veggies were old. She pulled out the cheese inside, sighing when she read the expiration date. "I really need to go grocery shopping."

Cue her stomach growling embarrassingly. Sesshomaru cleared his throat from behind her. "Perhaps we should acquire some food?"

"What time is it?" She looked at her watch. 4:37am. She cast a sidelong glance at Sesshomaru, who looked as impeccable as ever. "If you drive, I'm fine with that."

* * *

Rin sighed happily as she sat in the passenger car of the SUV, a double cheeseburger from WhatABurger in her hand and in her mouth. It tasted wonderful. Rin chewed compassionately, moaning happily and savoring every single taste that crossed her tongue. She swallowed, reaching forward and grabbing the coke from the cup holder and taking a large gulp to wash down part of her burger.

She had felt self conscious at first. Eating a disgustingly greasy burger in front of Sesshomaru? No way that could be graceful. But as soon as she had the first bite in her mouth, Rin decided Sesshomaru could suck it. No way was she going to not enjoy the deliciousness in front of her. Granted, Sesshomaru was indeed delicious in his own right. Probably more delicious than her burger. With that, Rin's mouth watered for an entirely different reason.

She looked over at her chauffeur, swallowing harshly when she noticed the look in his eyes. Almost as if he wanted to devour her as completely as she was devouring her meal.

Rin dropped her burger into the bag, suddenly hungry for something entirely different than food. There eyes met again and Rin swore to herself that this was how some sort of prey felt right before it was consumed whole. You know, if the prey was about to enjoy vigorous bouts of sex.

 _Would you really mind if Sesshomaru consumed any part of you?_ She blushed and looked away, putting the fries into the bag as well and sitting straight in her seat, looking out the window.

Sesshomaru pulled from their parking spot, turning onto the highway and back to their home.

Rin nearly smacked herself in the face, right there in front of him. It wasn't THEIR home. It was HER home. HERS. He wasn't even going to be staying with her long. Except; Rin wasn't sure when she had decided to let him stay with her. She didn't think Sesshomaru was usually refused of anything he wanted, but she wasn't above being the first to deny him something, especially the right to become her roommate.

Sure, he said it was for her health and wellbeing, but did Rin really believe that. She put a hand onto her stomach. She _did_ feel more happy and better about life than she had in several weeks.

And did she really want to go back to disliking food? She stared forlornly at her bag of food, already feeling hungry again for actual food and not anything sexual, thank God.

Sesshomaru chose that moment to smirk at her and she cast him a confused glare, bag of burgers clutched possessively in her hands.

"What exactly are signs of a formed mate bond?" She had a sinking suspicion she knew of one in particular that at least Sesshomaru seemed to have. Besides, she still remembered most of what she had read prior to his visit. Rin just wanted her suspicion confirmed.

"There are various abilities that form over time, dependent upon the mates."

"Do any of these happen to be some sort of mind reading?"

He shifted in his seat, in what Rin could only assume was his way of showing discomfort. Just a subtle movement that otherwise would go unnoticed. In fact, Rin would have brushed off the slight movement, but Sesshomaru wasn't the type of demon who moved unless it was with purpose.

"It is possible. Some of the stronger mate bonds have this gift." Stronger mate bonds? That didn't sound good, especially if Rin was determined to resist/break the mate bond.

"Yeah, okay. A gift. Sure. And how exactly would this gift develop?" Better yet, how would one destroy said gift before it developed further?

"Generally each gift is developed gradually. However, in some instances, when the connection is extremely powerful, at least on one side of the bond, telepathy is formed almost instantly."

That would explain why Rin didn't sense anything from him. And yet, if her suspicions were correct with Sesshomaru, that meant that he felt something profound for Rin, who was hugging a bag of burgers tightly to her chest and sporting a lovely mustard stain on her from her earlier devouring of goods.

Rin cleared her throat as they pulled off the highway and entered her neighborhood. Each house had several acres of land, giving each owner their fair share of privacy. It might even allow for a demon to transform without an audience. Not that Rin cared.

The silence stretched between them as they pulled into her driveway, his SUV parked in front of her garage before he turned off the engine and stepped from the vehicle.

Sesshomaru walked to Rin's side of the vehicle, opening her door and reaching inside for her bag. Rin snatched it back from him with a small shout. "Hey! This is my food. MINE."

"You ordered four burgers and nothing was for me?" He looked almost hurt.

"You should have spoken up if you wanted something. Besides, I didn't think demons ate cheeseburgers."

"What do you assume we eat?"

 _The souls of human children probably,_ Rin thought bitterly as she stepped from the SUV and covered her eyes from the dawning sun as she looked up at Sesshomaru.

Who was trying to not smile, as his lips twitched for a few seconds before returning to their normal pout. He looked positively frightening.

"Oh my God! You _can_ read my mind!" He merely escorted her into her house as she ranted. "No, that is not fair, Sesshomaru. Not fair! Knock it off!"

"I assure you, this isn't something that I can switch off at will."

" _Well try,_ " Rin bit out in aggravation. She stomped into the kitchen, opening the bag and setting the food out onto the counter. She gave herself the half eaten burger and fries, handing over the rest of the contents to Sesshomaru. "I wasn't serious about your eating human souls." _Not completely serious._

And with that, they ate in companionable silence.

Once their meal was finished, Rin decided to ask the question that had been most pressing on her mind since she left Kagome's wedding weekend.

"Why are you here now? I mean, I understand that you wanted to let me know about that article being a lie, but why haven't you tried to get ahold of me sooner?"

"I sensed your reluctance to face me the morning after we spent the evening together." Sesshomaru stood from his chair, tossing his food wrappers into the trash before speaking again. "I did not wish to come on too strongly. Perhaps you would have adjusted to the thought of a bond with me on your own time."

Before Rin could speak up, Sesshomaru continued. "I did not want to frighten you away, as I know I did not make a proper first impression, as your humans say. However, there is no longer time to be separated. Another prolonged separation could have more disastrous side effects than what you have already encountered. I do not wish that to happen."

Like death. Some mates who suffered without the other ended their own lives. It usually only occurred when the other mate had died, yet Rin had read a few articles of mates who purposely separated from those they had bitten out of spite. The results were almost always death, unless the bond was slight enough to fade on its own.

Rin didn't think that would work for her and Sesshomaru. Not if he could read her mind and not if the thought of him leaving already made Rin's chest ache painfully.

Rin sighed. "Alright, how long do you plan on staying?"

"Forever." He replied without missing a beat. Rin rolled her eyes even as another obnoxious part of herself squealed in delight.

"Okay, Romeo. How about we give it a few days? We can see how it goes. Oh and do not even think we are sharing a room. You can have the guest bed. It's even got it's own bathroom attached."

And with that, Rin turned to show him to his room, leaving her empty plate behind.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Welcome to the new year! I've decided to make my resolution about writing at least once a week on my stories, as I feel bad with all of this stop and go with my stories.**

 **I hope everyone had a lovely few days off from work or school and that you enjoy this chapter! I'll try to have another one up in the next day or so, maybe sooner.**

 **xoxo**

* * *

She was going to kill him.

How many days had it been? How many exhausting, horrendous and infuriating days had it been since he took over her life? Rin looked down at her watch for confirmation.

4 days, 14 hours and 37 minutes (give or take) of pure hell.

Not only had Sesshomaru seen it fit to kick her cat, Chewy, out of one of the spare bedrooms, Chewy had let him. Chewy had even licked his hand as he let him take over his own little bedroom. The little traitor. Now Sesshomaru was a room closer to her and each night she had fallen asleep, it had been with the everythingness of him crammed inside her mind. It was impossible not to take every single piece of his essence and bring it with her each night, no matter how hard she attempted to resist the allure of him.

It was not just the smell of him; like forest, pine and a slight scent of musk. No, it was also the sight of him, so rigid and disciplined as he moved throughout her home, almost as if he could make it his own. It was the faint sounds she heard as she tossed and turned for countless hours in her bed each night. An almost nonexistent shuffling or a quiet murmur of sound that she could have sworn she was imagining if the rest of her didnt hone in on the noise, wanting to experience whatever she was capable of with him.

He was EVERYWHERE around her and Rin felt completely overwhelmed with it all.

It was unnerving, how her own body betrayed her, how it came alive at the mere thought of him making _noise_ in her home. It wasn't as if he were stripping down to nothing in the other room each night to sleep; her restless body had determined on night three that the man did not sleep.

At all.

In fact, Rin was very disturbed by what the demon actually did during the hours she feigned sleep and instead tossed and turned about in her bed each night. She never heard the door to the house open or close, the TV was never on and she never heard him on the phone with anyone.

So what exactly did he do during the night?

Rin looked down at her watch, squinting in the darkened room. 4 days, 15 hours and 6 minutes.

Deciding there was no time like the present to spy on her guest, Rin dressed in a midnight blue satin gown that reached just above her knees and exited the room as quietly as possible. She didnt bother to shut her door, knowing he could hear the faint click even from a suitable distance. He could probably hear the beating of her heart from across the house.

Lord help her if she farted anywhere near him. Talk about mortifying.

Taking light and easy steps, Rin tiptoed down the hallway and into her living room. She did her best to be silent, like a damn ninja, but Rin wasn't fooling herself. No way she could make the drop on someone like Sesshomaru. She came to a standstill, eyes zeroing in on a piece of furniture, two animals and something that did not belong to either of them out on display.

What she found both surprised and enraged her.

Sitting on her couch in a very stiff manner, Sesshomaru was using one hand to pet the black and white cat in his lap. The little traitor was lapping it up and she could hear him purring like a maniac at the demon stroking his fur. Sesshomaru's other hand was holding one of her books, his head bent studiously over the pages as if he were dissecting each and every word. And by one of her books, she meant one of the steamy romance novels that she had written.

HE WAS READING HER PORN BOOKS.

"What are you doing," Rin practically squawked out at him in embarrassment. Not only was the cover of her book of a mostly naked man, the story was full of sex she had written about. He was reading what she had essentially fantasized about!

She felt her cheeks heat as he looked up at her slowly, hand still petting Chewy, the fat little bastard. An even more traitorous part of her mind whispered, _'oh pet me, pet me!'_

Rin shook off the thought and instead narrowed her eyes at the demon smirking in her direction. What had they been talking about?

"I had thought it obvious." Oh God. The book.

A fresh wave of humiliation swamped Rin to the point where she was half tempted to flee back to her bed and convince herself it had all been a dream.

Deciding it was better to come to grips with reality instead of delusion, Rin finally clicked the pieces of his constant nightly silence together, wanting to crawl under a rock and hide forever.

"Oh my God. Please do not tell me you have been reading all of my books each night I leave you alone."

"It is not in my nature to lie about such trivial matters."

Trivial matters? _Trivial matters?_

"It isnt trivial when its my life." She stomped forward, feeling an awful moment of deranged glee when Chewy ran away from the impending tornado of her emotions. Combined with her lack of sleep, Rin had a feeling she was going to lose her collective shit on a demon who could rip her in half without breaking a sweat.

"You mean to imply this is an autobiography?" He raised an eyebrow at her jaw slacked face, no doubt feeling as superior as usual.

"What?" Her face burned, a less than subtle reminder that her embarrassment was increasing exponentially, with no clear ending in sight. "No, no that is not what I meant. Oh my God. Are you saying that you thought those sex scenes were about me and other men?"

He stood abruptly, returning the hardback book onto its shelf. Rin stepped back a moment to give him even more space from her, although her body distinctly remembered the feel of his hands on her.

Rin's breath caught when a sudden swell of desire hit her out of nowhere, her body tightening in anticipation when Sesshomaru turned to face her, inhaling slightly more than he usually would.

He was smelling her.

"You have a very descriptive mind. It is not difficult to assume you were originally the one in the throes of passionate sex." Sesshomaru took a step towards her, causing Rin to back up quickly, nearly smacking her backside into another bookshelf in her haste to escape him.

Did she have to be such an avid reader? There now seemed to be shelves everywhere, blocking her from salvation and keeping her trapped with such a broody, awful, _sexy_ beast.

"It might come as a shock to you, oh ancient one, but not all of us are giant whores. I wouldn't expect you to understand, given how I barge in on you in 'the throes of passionate sex' a few weeks ago," Rin spat his words back at him. Thinking about him with that other woman only caused a fresh wave of _something_ that seemed to trap itself inside her heart and nestle in.

"That was not passionate sex. That was a quick fuck." His words slid down her spine, much like his hand did as he reached for her, gently pulling her toward him. "There is a difference." Rin felt the heat of his hand practically burning through her nightgown. If his touched hers she was sure the electric current that seemed to run through them both would light up. She could almost feel the buzz of it, could almost grasp it to her, it felt so real.

Did he feel the same thing? Or was it just her, with her little human mind, coming up with this nonsense? She'd obviously read about the voodoo mating signs, but she couldn't remember if it affected demons in the same manner.

"Glad to hear you know not all fucks are the same." Rin patted his chest one time too many, quickly removing her hand after it decided on its own that caressing the muscles under his shirt was a much better idea than remaining by her side.

"The affect I feel is much the same, although more amplified as the bond is created through the demon."

"I thought we agreed you would just pretend you couldn't read my mind?" Rin bit out before stepping out of his almost embrace, needing to be away from him to gather her thoughts.

It was a good time to retreat back to her room. The thought alone made her angry with herself and with him. It was her house, Rin shouldn't have needed to run and hide. This was supposed to be her safe space and instead, she didn't feel comfortable anywhere because everything was beginning to remind her of him and to be honest; Rin didn't want it to.

"Rin," Sesshomaru said darkly, obviously having read her thoughts yet again. Rin didn't bother turning around, instead just waving at him over her shoulder and heading back to her room.

"I'll see you in the morning Sesshomaru."

* * *

 _Day 12_

 _The barbarian has slowly taken over my lands, conquering everything in sight. He is menacing, dark and dangerous. He lays waste to anything that attempts to destroy him, but that isn't what disturbs me._

 _The ruthless conquerer has found a sick fascination with me. Perhaps it was my lack of fear and my brazen attitude that drew his gaze to me on our first encounter._

 _It was easy to determine that he wanted me for himself when he took my home hostage and declared that I would become his bride, willing or not. In that moment I decided to play his game, to give him what he thought he wanted and to use that against him._

 _What I wrongly assumed would be easy has now turned into an impossible mission. When once I thought to seduce him, to bend him to my will in the hopes of escaping whatever sinister plans he would have for me, I now find myself thoroughly perplexed by both my desires toward him and his apparent resolve to claim me for himself._

 _The barbarian seems content to roam my lands for an indefinite amount of time, pillaging my supplies and turning my allies into enemies. I see him at length throughout the day, his greedy gaze filling my eyes and making me uncomfortable with how much I find myself hoping for even the most brief of contacts. At night, however, is when I am haunted by him. He is everywhere, always, surrounding me, filling my head with his obsession to become everything to me. Friend, lover, tormentor. Nothing is safe from his watchful gaze._

 _My faithful steed has even been corrupted by the dark influence of the rogue barbarian, giving in to his dark aura and blatant charms._

 _I often find myself staring longingly in his direction with the hopes that he does not feel my gaze on him and an even more perverse hope that he does. To desire someone so fierce, with such an animal magnetism is frightening in every sense of the word and I know now that is what I feel for him. Drawn, like a moth to a flame._

 _I fear -_

The cell phone on the desk rang, startling Rin out of her thoughts. Hands falling from the keyboard, she picked up the sleek phone and answered the call, smiling to herself at Kagome's voice.

"Rin! Inuyasha and I are in town. What are you doing tonight?" Her cousin's excited voice makes Rin smile happily, although she felt uncomfortable with how the conversation will no doubt end.

"Well. I usually spend my evenings avoiding Sesshomaru like the plague, but I've got a sinking suspicion that isn't going to happen tonight."

"Sesshomaru has been seeing you a lot?" Kagome asks with mild curiosity.

"Well, considering he decided to move into my house, I'm going to go with yes, I see him a lot."

"YOU'RE LIVING TOGETHER?!" She shrieked on the other end of the line, causing Rin to wince a bit at the shrill tone. In Kagome's screeching defense, Rin had been having trouble with noises the past few days. It was almost as if her normal senses were beginning to amplify. Her eyesight was more apt, her sense of smell more keen and Rin could swear she could hear Chewy purr from at least two rooms away, sometimes on the other end of the house.

It was as annoying as it was startling. Yet another wonderful side effect of the mate bond. It wasn't bad enough that Sesshomaru could hear Rin's every thought if he focused hard enough, she had to gain a few of his attributes that were shocking, but not unpleasant. No, what was unpleasant was the overwhelming arousal Rin had begun to feel over the past week. Along with her senses, her emotions were fluctuating all over the place, which she knew was an unpleasant side effect of being near her mate, but not bonding.

 _Her mate._ God, that word. Mate. It filled Rin will all sorts of dread every time she used it. Lately, however, it was starting to fill her with a different sort of emotion, which was even worse than dread. It was affection, which she realized she was begrudgingly beginning to have for the stubborn dog demon. At every turn, Sesshomaru was breaking down her defenses, though Rin tried valiantly to ignore every move he made toward her.

The mere thought of Sesshomaru had Rin's cheeks flushing. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, pressing her thighs together to hopefully ease some of the tension that was building in her body. God, she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything before.

Luckily Sesshomaru was out working, at one of the local offices that his family company owned, otherwise Rin had no doubt he would have pounced on her like a crouching tiger had he sensed her thoughts.

"Earth to Rin! When did that happen?"

"What?"

"You living with Sesshomaru?"

"Well, it's him living with me. And I'm not sure. About two weeks now. He just showed up one day, told me I wasn't taking care of myself properly and moved himself in to one of my guest rooms."

"Wow. Inuyasha is going to love this. The honorable dog demon Sesshomaru shacking up with a human?! Inuyasha was right when he said you two were mates."

"I guess," Rin agreed reluctantly.

"So how's the sex?" Kagome asked unabashedly. Rin's cheeks heated again at the question.

"Um. I wouldn't know. We haven't actually had sex at all."

"I'm assuming that's not at his insistence."

"You would assume right," Rin sighed. Chewy sauntered into her office, purring loudly as he wrapped his body around her ankles, rubbing his face into her jeans and meowing lightly. "Oh sure, you little traitor. Sesshomaru leaves for one afternoon and now you're back here begging for my attention."

Kagome snorted out a laugh. "Are you talking to your cat? I thought dogs and cats didn't get along."

"Tell that to the two of them. Thick as thieves, I swear. What did you have in mind for tonight?"

"I was thinking dinner and maybe we could go out to a club afterward or something."

"Okay, that sounds good. I haven't left my house in a while anyway. Too much time writing. I could use a night out."

"Do you want to see if Sesshomaru is alright with tonight?"

"Nah. I'll just send him a text message and let him knows what's up. He can come with or he can stay home with Chewy. No skin off my back either way."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Rin knew she was playing with fire. He could come with or stay home? He barely let Rin out of his sight, today aside. She doubted he would be fine with her out clubbing without him, even if she was with family. He was way too possessive, sometimes even irritated when she paid more attention to her cat than to him, which was laughable as her cat only had eyes for Sesshomaru.

"What are you doing right now? I need to go out and find something to wear. Believe it or not, pretty much the only dress I really have was the one I wore to your wedding and somehow that doesn't really scream 'night out on the town'."

"Yeah, you're right. How about we meet at the mall in the city? I can be there in about 30 minutes?"

"Give me about an hour and a half. I need to get ready and my house is out of the way of town."

They hung up after making solid plans. Rin sent a quick text to Sesshomaru before leaving her phone behind and going to get ready.

* * *

 **Leave a review?**

 **-Mo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everybody! I told you guys I would try and update weekly, and boom. Here is an update! I really appreciated all of the reviews on this story, and I have taken them to heart.**

 **Kibachow- I definitely hear what you're saying. I mean, the story is about being reluctantly drawn to someone, but I see where you are coming from about it not having a romantic edge to it. I hope this next chapter helps convey where this story will be going and can help us see that while Rin might be fighting this, Sesshomaru definitely isn't. You've read a lot of my work and I definitely appreciate all of your feedback (Which is why this is a Sessh POV, to hopefully start steering this story into an actual romance/comedy and so we can see that he is serious about pursuing her). It's easy to get caught up in the angst of something and to lose focus on what direction a story is actually intended to have, but you've helped me think of a better approach to get us to a nice HEA with hopefully a better story overall from here on out.**

 **Mrs. MagnusB, fret not! Although this is about being reluctantly mated (haha title drop), I promise by the end it's not going to be a chemical bond that keeps them together, but something much better.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and please leave a review! I hope you like it**

 **xo**

* * *

Lord Sesshomaru sat at the mahogany desk in his office, staring absently at the paperwork before him, less interested than ever in his work. His body might have been in the building, but his mind was nearly an hour away with a certain human woman who vexed him continuously.

It had been weeks since Lord Sesshomaru infiltrated the home of his human mate and yet he still found himself at odds with the tiny woman. In fact, it seemed his daily presence in her life had hindered the mate bond between them instead of strengthening it.

Lord Sesshomaru had wrongfully assumed that just being in Rin's line of vision would be enough to strike up the mating bond to a frenzied point in which they would be bond mystically, bodily and of the mind. Yet, nothing had happened. It was frustrating to say the least.

Lord Sesshomaru had definitely been waiting for the 'bodily' portion of the mate bond, ever since she had drunkenly disrobed before him the last night they spent together in his family's home. Blood and cuts aside, she had been breathtaking. Her skin felt and looked as soft as a feather and smelled like vanilla and jasmine, an aroma Lord Sesshomaru found quite intoxicating. Her long black hair was like the finest silk and framed her pale features marvelously and her eyes could change even the harshest of dispositions.

Her humanity aside, Rin was the loveliest creature he had ever beheld, which made sense, as Lord Sesshomaru deserved nothing less. If only her fierce attitude could abate, he might then even find his pretty mate even more tolerable than he did at the present time.

Searching through her home, Lord Sesshomaru had found a variety of surprising facts about his mate. Her writing was more than adequate, something he found himself strangely proud of upon reading all of her published work. He had even taken the time during one of his evenings alone to compare her work with various authors of similar storylines, only to find Rin's work vastly superior in every way.

In another room of the house, there was room solely dedicated to weapons, which had shocked Lord Sesshomaru for nearly an entire day. The floor was hardwood and cleared of any obstacles and on the walls were several mounted swords of various sizes and types. There had also been spears, axes, bows, knives and even guns. It was a curious room, as Lord Sesshomaru couldn't picture Rin as the hostile type, at least not upon first discovering her room.

The more time he spent around her, the more her ferocious anger made sense with the war room she kept. Perhaps his mate was a warrior? A part of Lord Sesshomaru seized up at that possible knowledge, wanting to deny that his mate would ever have such a dangerous hobby. Another, more satisfied part of himself wondered how adequate Rin would be at sparring. He had thought to ask her if she would be interested, as she seemed to harbor enough pent up frustrations to level a building, but her icy demeanor had quickly quelled his inquiry.

He had made more headway with the loathsome fat creature in her keeping than with her. The cat his mate referred to a 'Chewy' was more enamored with the great lord than his intended mate was.

The situation might have been humorous, say, if it had happened to anyone else aside from the great lord. His ridiculous half brother, perhaps.

Instead, Lord Sesshomaru found himself at a disturbing disadvantage when it came to the human he was destined to mate.

A human.

Where upon the realization first occurred, Lord Sesshomaru found himself less caring that she was human and more irritated that said human was reluctant to his charms of persuasion. No one had ever been less than interested in becoming his than the one woman who was destined for that position. It was preposterous, laughable. What more would he have to do to gain her admiration than to be near her? Surely more work was pointless.

Granted, Lord Sesshomaru never needed to seduce a woman. His mere presence and scent were tantalizing enough to the senses that demon women fell at his feet in rapture, eager to obey his every command. He need only glance in their direction and his every need would be sated as soon as he deemed it appropriate.

Frowning, Lord Sesshomaru felt a deep ache somewhere in the close proximity of his chest, almost as if a part of him no longer found the anonymity of such endeavors satisfying in the slightest.

An image of Rin, glaring up at him as she ripped one of her books from his hand, a pretty blush spreading along her delicate features, had Lord Sesshomaru's heart picking up a strangely erratic beat. She had been so aggravated, her brown eyes heating into chocolate pools as she verbally assaulted him.

Lord Sesshomaru would never admit such a thing out loud, but he had found her behavior towards him refreshing, which was odd. He never enjoyed someone berating him; in fact, he was so feared that he couldn't remember the last time someone had laid into him over anything. Especially a female. Even demon women were afraid of him on some level, yet a human woman had gotten into his face on numerous occasions, one argument or another on her lips each day they were in each other's company.

Lord Sesshomaru had a hard time remembering what exactly had pissed off his tiny mate on each of the days, only that he enjoyed her reaction. Sometimes he even felt that he went out of his way to irritate her into a passionate frenzy, as it seemed to be the only time she truly acknowledged his presence in her home.

Coming full circle in his thoughts, Lord Sesshomaru was maddened with the knowledge that the current way he was approaching his human mate was all wrong. Whereas he only needed to crook his finger at any of the women in his past and gain their attention, he now had a sinking suspicion he would need to work to obtain her affection as perhaps demons worked in far different ways than humans.

Lord Sesshomaru nearly shivered at that word: affection. In all of his lifetime, Lord Sesshomaru had never needed or wanted the affections of another. In fact, it was rare that full blooded dog demons required anything from someone else as they were often solitary beings. That was why his pesky brother was such an anomaly. For all of Inuyasha's strengths as a dog demon, his human emotions were a hell of a weakness.

A terrible, dreadful idea sparked into Lord Sesshomaru's mind, causing a soft exhale to escape his lips as he reached for the phone on his desk and dialed a number.

"What do you want?" Came Inuyasha's shrill voice. Lord Sesshomaru felt his ear twitch in irritation over the sound. It was nothing like Rin's sultry voice, capable of rendering him aroused, hyper aware of his surroundings and drowsy all at once.

"I have need of your assistance," the words were bit out through clenched teeth. Lord Sesshomaru heard the receiver squeak, causing him to relieve the pressure from the fist he was making in order to keep the phone in working order.

"You want my help? Yeah, right. Why are you calling?"

Lord Sesshomaru wanted to slam down the phone into the receiver, pick the entire thing up and hurl it through the window behind him. He would rather die a thousand deaths than seek the help of someone as pitiful as Inuyasha. Yet, perhaps the reason Inuyasha had made such headway with his mate was _because_ he was so pathetic.

Lord Sesshomaru breathed in and out, his heavy breaths registering through the phone.

"Man, you're really worked up over something. Alright, I'll bite. What can I help with?"

"I need help with how to seduce a human." The words came out in a jumbled rush, something completely unheard of for someone of Lord Sesshomaru's ilk. A shocked silence filled the line.

Inuyasha then proceeded to laugh obnoxiously into the phone. "Oh my God! You haven't sealed the deal with Rin yet? What a _shock._ You are aware that by this point in my relationship with Kagome I was already engaged, right? I mean, I had her eating out of the palm of my hand. And let me tell you, she loves putting _anything_ of mine in her mouth." Lord Sesshomaru growled into the receiver at that. He nearly hung up the phone until something pleasant occurred.

"What the heck did you just say, Inuyasha?" Kagome's sharp voice was heard through the line. Lord Sesshomaru sat back in his leather chair, his shoulders relaxing a fraction.

This was going to be good.

"What? Nothing, Kagome."

"Really? Because it sounded like you were lying to someone on the phone. It was more like you were so desperate to please me you did anything and everything I asked."

"No, no I didn't."

"I seem to recall someone going to a Star Trek convention with me, dressed up as Spock. Now, who could that have been?" Lord Sesshomaru snorted into the phone as his younger brother back pedaled in a desperate attempt to change the conversation.

"Doesn't sound like anyone I know. Listen, I need to get back to this important phone call, so if you could just-"

"Live long and prosper, you ass! Or what about that weekend we spent watching chick flicks in my apartment and cuddling? I seem to recall someone was a bigger Jane Austen fan than me."

"Hey, I copped a feel that weekend, alright? And you know what, Kagome? Mr. Darcy deserves love too! It's not all about Lizzy, you feel me?" What in the hell was happening?

"Yeah, you copped a feel of my shoulders when you gave me a back massage later that day. We didn't even have sex until we got married!" There was a scuffle on the other end of the line, followed by Inuyasha grunting in pain and then wailing at something or another.

"Who is this?" Kagome breathed into the phone.

"Lord Sesshomaru."

A pause followed by a muffled curse. Inuyasha's, no doubt.

"Oh hey, big brother! What can I help you with?" His lip lifted in a silent snarl at the name she had given him. He bit back his harsh retort, knowing he required aid and the couple on the line was probably his only option.

"I called Inuyasha on how to charm Rin into accepting our mating, but perhaps you would be of better assistance." He found himself less reluctant to speak with Kagome than he had with his own flesh and blood.

"I would love to help. Now, here's what you need to do.."

* * *

 **Leave a review?**

 **-Mo**


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